


Harry Potter And The Hidden Threat

by NoirWolf5



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Slytherin Harry Potter, Slytherin Hermione Granger, Wrong Boy-Who-Lived (Harry Potter)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:00:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 66,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28279539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoirWolf5/pseuds/NoirWolf5
Summary: Harry Potter spent his childhood with his estranged parents, his little sister Jasmine, and his twin brother Noah Potter, The Boy Who Lived. Now, he's heading off to Hogwarts, and he wants nothing more than to prove himself as more than just brother to the saviour of the wizarding world. He didn't think he would have to face all of Hogwarts's hidden threats to do so.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Harry Potter
Comments: 84
Kudos: 225





	1. What's Past Is Prologue

_**HARRY POTTER AND THE HIDDEN THREAT  
CHAPTER 1: WHAT'S PAST IS PROLOGUE  
** _

* * *

_**Potter Cottage** _

_**October 31, 1981  
11:45 p.m.** _

_BAM!_

Peter Pettigrew crawled behind his master in his rat form as he entered the Potter Cottage through the massive hole where the door used to be.

Tonight was the night. After being a spy for the Dark Lord for the past eight months, he would finally reveal his true allegiance and make James and Sirius pay. It had been extremely easy to apply that compulsion spell on Sirius to make him suggest the change of secret keepers. Even though James and Lily were slightly hesitant about it, they ended up making the change without much argument.

They were trusting fools.

"Ah, James," Voldemort stated conceitedly as he strode into the house. "How are you, old friend?"

Peter scurried his way around the Dark Lord and saw James standing on the stairs.

"I'll be better once you're dead," James growled.

"It's not polite to threaten your guests, James. And besides, it's not even wise to do so when you don't have a wand."

James looked into the living room where Peter spotted his wand on the arm of the couch. James glanced back at the Dark Lord and then once again at the living room before leaping over the rail of the stairs.

Unfortunately for him, the Dark Lord was ready for that.

Almost lazily, Voldemort flicked his wand and cast a white spell that hit James mid-air, causing him to crash violently onto the hall floor.

"I didn't say you could leave!" Voldemort said patronizingly as he smirked at James's petrified body. "Why don't we go upstairs? It would be rude to keep Lily waiting."

Once again, Voldemort flicked his wand and levitated James behind him as he made his way up the stairs with Peter following behind, still in his rat form.

_BAM!_

"Please," Peter heard Lily's voice pleading as he made his way into the nursery room. "Please, not my sons. Take me! Kill me! Please!"

"Unfortunately, I can't do that," The Dark Lord said before violently moving his wand, throwing Lily across the room and pinning her to the wall besides James's petrified body. "I'm afraid I have made a promise not to kill you." He shot her a vile smirk. "However, that doesn't mean I can't make you watch as I kill your sons and husband."

" _ **NO!**_ " Lily gave an agonizing scream before she was silenced by the Dark Lord.

"Pettigrew!"

Peter finally changed into his human form after his master exclaimed his name. He sniggered at his old friends. Lily immediately started shouting soundless obscenities at him while James couldn't do anything but look at him with murder in his eyes.

"Yes, master?" he asked, kneeling in front of the Dark Lord.

"You have done well, Pettigrew. After tonight, I'll make sure you have anything and everything you could ever dream of."

"Thank you, master." He kissed the hem of his robes before looking up.

"Now, while I have my fun, start looking around the house for anything useful we can… expropriate."

"Yes, master." He stood up, bowed, and left the room.

Peter made his way to the master bedroom and started scavenging the room for anything valuable he could find. Unfortunately, he knew that James had given the invisibility cloak to Dumbledore, but he was sure there had to be other valuable things he could steal.

He searched around the room for less than a minute before it happened.

_**BOOM!** _

Peter was blown backwards off his feet, and he crashed against the wall that was right behind him. He groaned out in pain and rubbed the back of his head as he groggily made his way back towards the nursery.

When he got there, he nearly dropped his wand in shock.

There was a giant hole in the roof of the nursery. James and Lily were lying on the floor, unconscious. The room was filled with the sounds of both toddlers crying and in front of the crib was his master's white, yew wand on top of his black cloak.

He picked up the wand and pocketed it before he leaned over the crib. There he saw the twins (who were still crying). The one on the left was wearing a maroon jumper with the letter 'N' and had a bright red, lightning-shaped scar.

"Shit!" Peter exclaimed as the reality of his situation crashed down on him.

He was a dead man. He had just revealed himself as a Death Eater and not minutes after when he had done so, the Dark Lord had been blown to pieces. He looked at James and Lily as he palmed his own wand nervously. He could kill them and leave, go to Dumbledore, and tell the headmaster what happened. Since they decided not to tell anyone about the change of secret keeper, Dumbledore would assume Sirius was the traitor, and Peter would easily get away with it.

It would be his and Dumbledore's word against Sirius.

He drew his wand and raised it at his old friends, the Killing Curse right on the tip of his tongue, but he stopped himself. He didn't know how his master had died, and he wasn't exactly eager to get himself blown up by some obscure magic as well.

He paused, thinking. Then, a wicked grin crossed his face. If there was anything he was good at, it was memory charms.

He quickly made his way towards the two Potters and knelt in front of them before pointing his wand at James.

" _Obliviate!_ Sirius Black is your secret-keeper. He graciously accepted the responsibility and never suggested switching secret-keepers at the last minute. Peter Pettigrew isn't and was never your secret-keeper. He wasn't here when the Dark Lord attacked, you haven't seen him since he visited a few weeks ago."

He repeated the spell with Lily before he stood up, his wand still pointing at Lily.

"Enneverate." He whispered and as soon as the words left his mouth, he apparated just outside the house.

After waiting for about a minute, he sprinted towards the house and entered through the hole in the wall.

"James! Lily!" Peter shouted with a panicked voice so perfect he had to refrain from smirking in satisfaction. "James! Lily!" He shouted once more as he made his way upstairs.

"Peter!" He heard Lily call back just as he was about to enter the nursery again.

"Lily! I'm here!" He cried as he entered the nursery. "What happened!?" he asked, feigning panic as he saw Lily kneeling over James's unconscious body.

"V-V-V- _**He**_ was here, Peter. I don't know how he found us. He attacked us and- Harry! Noah!" She immediately got up and ran towards the crib and Peter took this chance to cast a silent _enneverate_ on James. "Oh, thank God!" He heard Lily whisper in relief as she attended to the twins.

"Peter?" James asked confusedly as he slowly woke up.

"James, I'm here. It's okay." Peter soothed him. "You're all okay."

James immediately looked relieved and hugged him. "Thank Merlin."

"How did he find you!?" Peter asked the two of them after he pulled back from James. "I thought this place was under the Fidelius!"

As soon as he said that, James slumped to the ground as if he was hit with something. He could see his friend reaching the conclusion he had devised and decided to give James a small push.

"No! Sirius could never! He would never betray you!" He exclaimed before turning to Lily. "Lily, tell him!"

As he expected, Lily was silent and looked as betrayed as James. Peter was doing all he could to contain his glee.

"He betrayed us," James said in a barely perceptible voice. "He betrayed _me_."

"James! He could never!" Peter said with fake anxiety. "He's our brother!"

"He was my brother… and he betrayed me," James growled. Peter could almost see the rage building inside him.

The three of them were startled when they heard the sounds of a motorbike pass over the house and land. Peter instantly recognized it as _Sirius's_ motorbike, and he wasn't the only one.

 _It's showtime,_ Peter thought to himself.

"James, let's not jump t-"

He was interrupted when James growled and pushed him out of the way. He heard him go down the stairs before he looked at Lily, she looked just as enraged as her husband.

_Perfect!_

Peter got up and sprinted downstairs and out of the house, where James stood, looming over Sirius's stunned body. He was surprised - he had expected James to shout and yell, or for the two of them to get into a spell fight right away. It seemed as if James's cold fury had made him choose to not take any chances and stun Sirius without giving him a chance to explain himself.

As much as Peter would have liked to see the two fight and for James to kill Sirius, this was much cleaner.

"James…" He asked tentatively when he reached his side. "He would nev-"

" **HE DID!** " James shouted. "There's no other way! He was our secret-keeper and the only person who could tell anyone about the location!"

"I… I'm sorry. I just… I can't believe he would betray us." Peter said in a sad voice.

"He did," James said with a cold, hard tone. "And I'm going to make sure he pays for it."

* * *

_**St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries** _

_**November 1, 1981** _

_**9:25 a.m.** _

"Fascinating," Dumbledore whispered after he and Lily had told him what happened.

"Albus, how did Noah even survive? I saw it." James gulped loudly. "I saw _him_ cast the killing curse at my son before everything went to shit. How is he still alive?"

"I believe this is connected with the prophecy," Dumbledore said carefully.

"You told us about the prophecy, but you never told us what it said," Lily angrily said. It was the main reason why they had to go into hiding under the Fidelius, yet they still didn't know a word of it.

Dumbledore sighed. "I didn't tell you because this prophecy needed to be kept a secret from as many people as possible. If you had told Sirius Black, and he had told Voldemort, it would have been disastrous."

"Can you at least tell us now?" Lily asked with a steely tone.

Dumbledore looked reluctant before nodding.

" _The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives..._ "

Silence followed those words as James and Lily tried to grasp what this meant.

"So… Noah was the child of the prophecy? He killed V-V- _him_?" Lily asked in a hopeful voice.

"Yes… and no," Dumbledore said gravely as he closed his eyes. "I'm afraid Noah is the child of the prophecy. Voldemort himself marked him with the scar he will have for the rest of his life. However, he isn't dead… Noah just banished him temporarily. One day, Voldemort will return, and Noah will have to face him. He will be the only one who can stop him."

"What should we do?" James breathed, feeling a sense of dread settle over him .

"Right now, Noah deserves a normal life. He deserves to live a normal childhood just like any other child. There will come a time when he will have to prepare, but that will be later. Right now, he should live a normal life."

"But what if V-V- You-Know-Who comes back soon! Shouldn't he prepare? Shouldn't he start training as soon as possible?" James was nearly hysterical as he stood up from his chair.

"James, if we were to do that, Noah wouldn't be able to live a normal life after he fulfils his fate. I promise you that I will take him under my wing the moment I sense that Voldemort will return, but it won't be any time soon. He saved the wizarding world, the least we can do is to make sure he gets to actually live his life."

"He's right, James," Lily said quietly. "It wouldn't be fair to Noah."

He slumped back on his seat dejectedly before and the other two adults turned to look at Noah who was sleeping in the crib nearby.

Nobody bothered to look at the other crib in the corner of the room. The crib where Harry Potter was sleeping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, WH Rutledge, Proton6, and MasterChaos1 for beta-ing this chapter!
> 
> Since my muse for ALAYWM is dead atm, I decided to start this new, long project. Because why not, it's not like I have enough things to do. Anyway, WBWL fic with Slytherin! Harry and Slytherin! Hermione. I'll try to avoid the usual tropes or subvert them, and I'll try to make things different from canon and have interesting and complex characters.
> 
> I was inspired to do this since I read Prince of Slytherin. It's also a WBWL fic with Slytherin! Harry and it's honestly the best fic I've ever read. You should go read it if you haven't.
> 
> This was just a small prologue to set things up in terms of why Sirius is in Azkaban. I just saw a comment that accused me of stealing. I do admit that the idea of Peter using the obliviate is from PoS. If anyone is looking to send hate comments, then it's up to you. I'd just like to point out that TSM himself commented on this chapter of my fic and said that he was cool with me using his idea of Wormtail obliviating the Potters.
> 
> However, I only did this because I wanted Sirius in Azkaban. I didn't use the same plot points that TSM used, and I never said the obliviation was permanent like TSM did in PoS. This fic will be very different from PoS and I have my own original plans and ideas for later.
> 
> If anyone is looking to send hate comments, then it's up to you. I'd just like to point out that TSM himself commented on this chapter of my fic (in ffn) and said that he was cool with me using his idea of Wormtail obliviating the Potters. And I'd also like to point out that I did credit him.
> 
> I just thought I should address that. This fic will be very different from PoS, it's not based on the PoS world but reading that fic inspired me to try and do a WBWL canon rewrite and expand on canon in my own ways.
> 
> Next chapter we meet jump to September 1st, 1991 where we'll meet Harry, Hermione, and the other big players from the fic.


	2. Meetings On The Hogwarts Express

_**HARRY POTTER AND THE HIDDEN THREAT  
CHAPTER 2: MEETINGS ON THE HOGWARTS EXPRESS  
** _

* * *

__**Harry's Room, Potter Manor  
September 1, 1991  
8:00 a.m.**

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

Harry groaned as he blindly fumbled for his stupid alarm clock.

Harry Potter was certainly not a morning person. In fact, he _hated_ mornings, he hated them with a passion. He always felt like he was least productive in the morning. Whether it was because he was accustomed to staying up late reading and didn't want to wake up early, or because he didn't want to leave the comfort of his bed, he didn't know. What he did know was that he would give anything to be free to spend all of his mornings in bed.

Not being able to find his bloody alarm clock, Harry extended his arm as far as possible and swiped it quickly, causing everything on his nightstand to fall to the floor, his alarm clock included. That seemed to do the trick, as the annoying racket suddenly stopped.

 _You should wake up_ , an annoying voice in his head admonished him as he tried to settle back into his slumber.

"Ten more minutes," He mumbled out loud just before he closed his eyes and started drifting off to sleep once more…

The next thing he knew, a squeaky house elf's voice was ringing in his ear. "Master Harry! You's supposed to wake up!" It berated him mercilessly.

"Ten more minutes," Harry repeated groggily.

"No, Mistress says you's supposed to wake up now, and Seepy will make sure you's wakes up now!"

"Five more minutes," Harry begged.

Suddenly, he heard the snapping of fingers, and his pillows and sheets were rudely ripped off his body.

"I don't need them," He grumbled, clearly annoyed with the elf. "I'm happy with just my own mattress."

"Then Seepy will take away mattress." She lifted her fingers and arranged them, ready to snap them again.

"Fine! Fine!" Harry raised his arms in defeat, sitting up. "I'm up!" he shouted as Seepy straightened her back and crossed her arms. Harry groaned as he stood up from the bed. "There. Happy?"

"Very much so." Seepy nodded, self-satisfied before she snapped her fingers again and his bed was returned to normal: the mess on the floor was once again neatly arranged back on the nightstand, and his round glasses were in his hands.

"Seepy, can you please make me my usual coffee? Milk with-"

"With three spoons of sugar." She interrupted in a kind tone, smiling. "Seepy knows."

"Thanks, Seepy. I'll be downstairs soon."

Seepy disapparated with a crack and Harry sat down on his bed, casting his pillow a longing look. He sighed, put on his glasses, and stood up once again, leaving his room.

It wasn't long before he reached his brother's room and noticed that the door was slightly open. He stopped and took a quick peek inside. His mother was seated on the edge of the bed, talking to Noah, who was burying himself into the pillow as his mother gently stroked his hair. Harry stood still, looking at them. A part of his mind couldn't help but imagine it was him there instead of Noah, with his mother waking him up like that every day. For what felt like an eternity, though it was only a couple of seconds at most. He shook his head and continued walking.

He saw a similar scene playing out in his sister's room with Jasmine and his father a few moments later, but he didn't linger this time.

He should be used to it by now, but for some reason, it always felt like this. His mother always went to wake up his brother, his father always went to wake up his sister, and Seepy always was the one to wake him up. It was the same routine every day, and he was, really, fine with it. He was old enough and didn't need his mummy or daddy by his bedside every morning, was he not?

When Harry arrived in the kitchen, he saw his cup of coffee already on the bar table, waiting for him - as it usually was. He took a small sip from the cup and sighed contentedly. It was perfect, just like always.

"Ah, Seepy. Whatever would I do without you?"

"It would be a miracle if Master Harry survived without Seepy." Her squeaky voice came from behind him.

Harry snorted and turned around. "Yeah, I don't doubt that." He took another sip from the cup before giving Seepy a sad smile, as the thought of being without the elf came to the forefront of his mind. "I'm going to miss you, Seepy."

"No personal kitchen at Hogwarts?" She asked, slightly amused.

"Nah," He chuckled. "No personal alarm clock either. I don't know how I'm going to wake up for my classes without you."

"Seepy is sure Master Harry will manage. Master Harry is good boy." She said as she walked towards him.

He rolled his eyes at her. "I'm pretty sure we both know that's not true."

Seepy put her hand over his chest. "But you's has good heart."

Harry looked at her for a moment and gave her a smile before chuckling and shaking his head. "Don't get sappy with me, Seepy. It'll only be a few months." He turned back, facing the table, and took another sip of his coffee, feeling the slight prickle of tears that he had not quite managed to suppress in his eyes.

Ten minutes later Harry left the kitchen, much more awake than earlier, and began walking to his room only to be intercepted by his mum right as he was about to get there.

"Good, you're up," Lily said with a smile as she walked towards him. "Now, we'll be leaving at 10 a.m. sharp. Since this is Noah's first year at Hogwarts, we expect a lot of people will be heading to the station for autographs or just to meet him, so it will be best for us to arrive early. You can wait with us and when Noah's done, you two can board the train and find a compartment together."

"Do we really have to do that? Can't he just do his autograph signings through the mail?" Harry said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. He really did not want to deal with Noah's _fame_ on the day he went to Hogwarts.

"Harry, you know how important this is for maintaining Noah's public image. You need to learn to support your brother."

"Sure thing, mum." He said, barely containing the snort that wanted to escape him. "I'll see you later." And with that, he walked past his mother and into his room, locking the door behind him.

An hour later, Harry emerged from his room, freshened and ready for the day. He was wearing his favourite emerald green jumper (whose colour matched that of his eyes), a pair of dark blue jeans, and a pair of blue trainers. He had fixed his unruly hair with Sleekeazy's hair potion.

By the time he arrived in the dining room, his mother was already there with his sister.

"What's for breakfast?" He asked as he sat down on the far end of the table.

"Pancakes," Lily beamed at him. "Your favourite."

"Right," He said curtly.

Pancakes were Noah's favourite food, not his, but it seemed that his mother couldn't even be bothered to know that. He turned to look at Seepy; she gave him a wink and a mischievous smile. She snapped her fingers and three stacked pancakes appeared in front of him. He narrowed his eyes at the elf but Seepy didn't say anything.

"I need to go get Noah, it's getting late. Harry, stay with your sister."

"So," Jasmine started as soon as their mother left. "You excited about Hogwarts?"

"Sure, what's not to love about having to wake up early for classes and sharing a dorm with a bunch of other kids?"

"You've been reading all your textbooks for the whole summer," Jasmine rolled her eyes. "Don't act as if you don't want to go."

"And leave my little sister behind?" He asked teasingly. "Whatever will you do without me?"

"I'll manage." She straightened her back.

"With Noah and me at Hogwarts, you'll be all alone here, Jas. You're gonna miss me."

"Miss you?" A voice identical to his came from behind him and interrupted whatever Jasmine was going to say. "You spend all day alone in your room and only come out for food." His twin brother walked around the table and sat beside his sister. "How can you expect her to miss you when I'm basically her only brother?" Harry resisted the urge to scrape his fork on the table. He would rather suffer through that than listen to his brother's voice this morning.

Noah Potter was physically a carbon copy of Harry. However, he was wearing an ice blue jumper that matched the exact shade of _his_ eyes along with light blue jeans and white trainers. Whereas Harry combed his hair into a somewhat decent look, Noah's hair was messy and untamed, covering his fringe where the lightning bolt scar was.

"Good morning, little brother," Harry said with fake cheerfulness and grinned at Noah's clear hatred for the nickname. "Is _The Boy Who Lived_ ready to meet all of his adoring fans? I hope your hand doesn't get tired from signing all those autographs."

"It's all about the practice, Harry," Noah said, flexing his hand muscles in an exaggerated manner. "I know it's hard to understand for someone who isn't a celebrity."

"Yeah, poor me. I'm just plain and simple Harry Potter. I don't have to waste my time signing autographs or reading fan mail." He clutched his hand to his chest, as if in pain. "Oh, the agony! What I would give to be _The Boy Who Lived_."

"Guys, stop it." Jasmine tried to interrupt but to no avail.

Noah snorted. "As if you're not jealous that I'm The Boy Who Lived and not you."

Harry actually laughed out loud at that. "Jealous? Trust me, Noah. The last thing I care about is your obsessed groupies. I'm fine with who I am."

"Stop it!" Jasmine protested in a louder voice, not wanting to watch her brothers duke it out once again.

"Sure you are, is that why you don't have any friends?" Noah mocked cuttingly, ignoring his sister's pleas.

"I'd rather not have any friends than spend every second of my day with Ronald Weasley, thank you very much."

"Just admit it, Harry! You're jealous. It's fine. I'd also be jealous of me if I were you. It must suck to be the insignificant twin."

"The insignificant twin!?" Harry exclaimed, incredulous. "Those are some strong words for a person whose crowning achievement is the fact that some deformed bell-end gave you an ugly scar."

Noah stood up and threw his chair back violently. "I vanquished He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!"

"You can't even say his name! What, are you still scared of Voldemort?" Harry relished in Noah's reaction as he stiffened in fear. "Oh," Harry laughed derisively, leaning back on his chair. "You are, aren't you? Voldemort is dead. He's gone, and you supposedly killed him, yet you can't even say his name. The saviour of the wizarding world, how pathetic." He resisted the urge to sneer, fearing that he would look too much like a textbook villain in this situation.

"Stop it! Both of you!" Jasmine cried for the third time as she stood up. Harry could see that she was fighting back tears. "It's always the same with you two! Can't you just stop for one day!?" She shot both Harry and Noah a glare.

Ignoring the pang of regret in his chest, he finally sneered at his brother, the resentment he felt overcoming his previous inhibitions, before stomping out of the dining room, leaving his breakfast untouched. He marched into the living room and plopped down onto the nearest couch, and as soon as he did, he felt something land on his lap, his copy of _The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection_.

Despite his anger, an amused smile crossed his face. _Thanks, Seepy_ , he thought as he opened the book and began to read.

"Harry! Noah!" James Potter's voice interrupted him after twenty or so minutes of needed silence. "We're leaving!"

Harry sighed and closed the book, slightly more harshly than he had meant to. He stood up, the book vanishing from his hands as he did, eliciting a quiet chuckle from him as he walked towards the Entrance Hall.

When he arrived, he saw his father conspiratorially whispering something to Noah, who was wearing a mischievous smile. The two of them stopped the moment they realized that they were not alone anymore.

"Before we go, I want to give you something," James said, changing the subject, as he pulled out two identical mirrors from the pocket of his jeans. "These are communication mirrors. They work like those muggle telephones you've seen when your mother takes you to the cinema. Both your mother and I have one, just say either of our names if you want to call us. They also work between each of yours, but since you'll both be in the Gryffindor Dormitory, I doubt you'll need them much. Although..." He added after a moment of silence, "When we were at Hogwarts, Uncle Peter, another two friends, and I used them to communicate while in detention. Just an idea." He winked at them.

"Will Uncle Peter come today?" Noah asked, excited.

"No, not today Noah." He looked around the room to make sure they were still alone. "Now, I'm going to give you something, Noah, but you can't tell your mother." He reached into his pockets once again and pulled out a fluid-like silky, silvery cloak.

Noah's eyes grew wide. "Is that...?"

"Yes," His father said proudly. "The Cloak of Invisibility."

Noah stared at the cloak in wonder while Harry glared at his father.

Even though he barely spent any time around his father, Harry did see him occasionally. Never did a month go by without James talking about all of his adventures at Hogwarts, always mentioning some sort of map and this cloak. The cloak, James had told them, had been passed from a Potter father to the eldest son for hundreds of years. The cloak that was _his_ birthright and belonged to him.

The cloak his father had just given to Noah.

Harry glared at his father but said nothing. What had he been expecting? His mum and dad always showed clear favouritism for Noah. It was naive of him to think they'd ignore that favouritism this time and give him the cloak. He turned to look at Noah; it was clear he knew what Harry was thinking as he was smirking at him from behind his father. Harry decided that he would make sure he didn't keep that cloak for long.

A few minutes later, his mother and sister came down the stairs and the five Potters apparated to King's Cross. They wound their way through the muggle side of the grand station before reaching the entrance to Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters. His father and brother went together first, Harry and Jasmine following with Lily bringing up the rear.

As soon as they were all there, they were swarmed by a deluge of people who began huddling around them.

"It's him!"

"Noah Potter!"

"The Boy Who Lived!"

Dozens of people were now there, all gawking at his twin and murmuring excitedly. Harry even saw a journalist and a cameraman from the Daily Prophet there. His mother moved around him and stood beside his father and his twin, with Jasmine following closely behind, grabbing Lily's hand when she reached her.

Harry didn't want to be there. The last thing he wanted was to wait around for an hour for Noah to finish signing autographs, answer interviews, and take pictures while people confused him for his twin.

So he made his choice.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention to him and the fact that his parents were too concerned with Noah to care, he escaped the ambush of people as stealthily as he could and made his way over to the Hogwarts Express.

Since they were an hour early, the train was mostly empty, and Harry found a seat in the last compartment. He spent two gruelling minutes struggling to haul his trunk up onto the racks. He closed the door to the compartment, sat down and gently caressed Hedwig through the bars of her cage.

Knowing that it was going to be an incredibly long day, Harry reached for his book bag, which contained all the books he needed for the year. If anything, he'd at least be able to use all this time to study. He opened the bag and to his surprise, there was a small Tupperware above all of his books.

Harry picked it up and slowly opened it. When he did, he saw three slices of French Toast wrapped in aluminium foil. He smiled as he grabbed the first slice. There was only one being in the world who knew that French Toast was his favourite food.

"Thank you, Seepy." He whispered before he took his first bite.

When he finished eating, he headed to the lavatory to wash his hands, before returning to his compartment. Then he began to read his DADA book, starting from where he had left off back at Potter Manor. He loved every subject that he would be taking (with the obvious exception of Astronomy, which he considered to be a useless course) but DADA had easily become his favourite subject. That shouldn't be too much a surprise, considering that his father worked as an Auror. Even though he also loved Potions - which also wasn't a surprise since his mother had a mastery in the subject - and Charms, there was something about DADA that called out to him.

So it didn't take long for him to become engrossed in the reading. This year seemed to be pretty interesting, even if Harry was a little disappointed in that they would only be learning some pretty simple defensive spells. Nonetheless, he was interested in all the creatures that they would cover - zombies, vampires, hags... the list went on. For a first-year, it didn't look half bad, but Harry couldn't wait to delve into curses, jinxes, and duelling.

He didn't know how much time had passed before he stopped reading. He had not taken his eyes off of the book since returning to the compartment. He had just stopped, but not because he didn't feel like reading anymore. No - he was being watched, and he knew it.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone standing outside his compartment. He was surprised to notice that they weren't wearing muggle clothes, but were already in their Hogwarts uniform. Harry waited for them to do something, either leave or knock, but nothing happened. For what felt like an eternity, the person just looked at him.

Unable to take it anymore, he looked up.

A girl, obviously a first-year, with bushy brown hair, was standing there. Even though he was seated, Harry could tell that she was slightly shorter than him. She stood tall, however, lifting her chin in what Harry sensed to be almost defiance. She had brown eyes that were looking at him as if trying to figure out a puzzle that was hidden in his very soul. He stared back, raising an expectant eyebrow but otherwise remaining silent.

After a couple of moments when they did nothing except stare at each other, her face softened. It was almost imperceptible, but it was clear enough for him to notice. She opened the door of the compartment but didn't step inside.

"Do you mind if I join you?"

Harry stared at her for a couple of moments before nodding. The girl grabbed her trunk and hauled it into the compartment, closing the door behind her. Harry stood up and helped her with her trunk as the two of them lifted it and placed it on the racks across from his own.

"Thank you," She said, smiling genuinely at him. After a moment, Harry returned the gesture. "I'm Hermione Granger." She paused for a moment as she gauged his reaction - it wasn't long enough for anyone else to notice, but he did - and it was only after that pause that she extended her hand. "And you?"

"Harry Potter." They shook hands and sat across from each other.

Even though Harry was curious about Hermione he didn't say anything else. He picked up his book and started reading again. Hermione seemed to have the same idea as him, taking out _Magical Drafts and Potions_ from her book bag and reading it.

The two of them kept this up for what felt like half an hour, each engrossed in their own books before the door to his compartment swung open.

"There you are," Noah's voice spoke. Harry could tell he was annoyed. "Mum and Dad were looking for you everywhere, even Jas was scared. They called you through the mirror, and you didn't answer."

"I've been busy." He answered without looking up from his book. "Why don't you go tell them I'm already on the train, little brother?"

"Stop calling me that," Noah growled. "Mum and Dad already left. I told them I saw you board the train."

"Then why are you even here?" Harry looked up and could see Hermione was pretending to ignore them, but he could tell she was listening intently. He turned to his brother and saw that he was standing with Ron behind him.

"Mum and Dad forced me. They said I had to join you in your compartment."

"Well, Mum and Dad aren't here, little brother. And I certainly don't want you here just like I know that you don't want to be here." He turned back to his book. "Close the door behind you."

His brother didn't say anything more to him; instead, he turned to Hermione.

"Noah Potter." Noah introduced himself as if his name was supposed to mean something to Hermione. Harry looked up and saw that his twin was shooting her the smile he always gave to his fangirls as he extended his hand. "You want to come to our compartment?"

Hermione looked up from the book and Harry braced himself for her to start fangirling over Noah and get up to leave with him. Harry felt his chest constricting at the thought. But whatever he thought would be Hermione's reaction, he was dead wrong.

She looked at Noah with an impassive face, she looked down at his hand, then back up at him, before she returned her attention to her book. Noah stood there, his expression a combination between confusion and anger, before turning to glare at Harry, who was smirking at him.

"Do remember to close the door."

"Let's go, Ron." Noah left the room, slamming the door behind him.

"That's Noah Potter?" Harry turned to Hermione who was looking at him carefully.

"You don't seem impressed," He said, raising an eyebrow at her.

"There was nothing to be impressed about." She shrugged and went back to her book.

Harry laughed. "I like you."

Hermione slightly looked up from his book, giving him a smug smile before continuing to read.

Harry tried to go back to his reading, but he was surprised when he couldn't. His mind was occupied by Hermione Granger. He had never seen anyone act like that with Noah and couldn't help but be intrigued by her. She wasn't like any other person his age he'd ever met.

He kept stealing glances at her as she continued reading. That was another thing that surprised him. Every other kid he had met had always mocked him for his reading habits. They constantly called him weird, or even mental, and always pressured him to talk about Quidditch or to play Exploding Snap. He'd never met someone who read as voraciously as Hermione did.

The next three hours went by in a flash. Both remained silent during that time, each absorbed in their own books. Or, at least that was what they wanted each other to think. He kept glancing at Hermione every once in a while, and after some time, he could tell that she noticed. But he also began to notice how she was doing the same, and he could tell that she knew that he knew.

They were playing a weird game, and he couldn't help but enjoy it. Unfortunately, it was interrupted when someone opened the door to their compartment.

A slim, blond boy, who also looked to be a first-year, was standing outside the door, flanked by two large boys.

"You're not Noah Potter." The boy stated matter-of-factly, not even bothering to greet him. "You don't have the scar."

"How perceptive."

The boy analysed him for a moment. "This is Crabbe, and this is Goyle." He gestured at the two boys behind him. "And I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy." He said, extending his hand towards him.

Harry had heard about the Malfoys, of course. His father always spoke of how the Malfoys were Death Eaters and had actually explicitly warned him to stay away from them or any other Slytherin. He'd always known that the man was incredibly biased against Slytherins, having an almost irrational hatred for them. In fact, most of the stories about Hogwarts James Potter constantly and proudly told included detailed pranks against the house, most of which were borderline cruel and sadistic.

James always made excuses for himself, saying that they were Death Eaters in the making, but Harry somehow doubted that every Slytherin deserved it, especially when his father admitted that some of his pranks were aimed at first years when he was a sixth-year. Oh, he knew that a lot of them went on and joined Voldemort, but there were also Death Eaters from every other house just as there were Slytherins that stood up to him.

He wouldn't make the same mistakes that his father made and of which he was sure Noah would make. Lucius Malfoy was a Death Eater, he didn't doubt his father on that count. But Draco hadn't done anything terrible yet, and Harry would not pass judgement on him for his father's actions.

Harry stood up and shook the boy's hand. "Potter, Harry Potter."

"You wouldn't happen to know where your brother is?"

Harry shrugged. "He's not here, he's probably in some compartment on the opposite end of the train."

"Thank you." Draco began to leave before he turned back. "Let me give you a piece of advice, Potter. You shouldn't go around making friends with the wrong sort." He turned to Hermione and sneered at her.

Harry looked at Hermione for the first time since Malfoy arrived and saw that she wasn't pretending to read like she did when Noah entered. No, she was glaring at the blond boy with her chin up.

"Don't worry, Malfoy. I know who the right sort are." Harry said calmly without taking his eyes off of Hermione. She turned to look at him with an impassive mask which Harry couldn't read.

"Mudbloods aren't the right sort, Potter. You should learn that before it's too late."

"I really don't like that word." He turned towards Malfoy. "You're going to apologize."

Malfoy snorted before looking at Hermione with a disgusted expression. "And why would I do that?"

"Because after your father was cleared of all the crimes he committed while he was... _Imperiused_ to be a Death Eater, your family has done quite an excellent job _showing_ everyone that you don't believe in Voldemort's ideals. You wouldn't want rumours that the Malfoys are still bigoted against muggle-borns to begin spreading around Hogwarts, do you?"

Malfoy looked at him, his face a mask, but Harry could tell that he had actually startled the boy. His suspicions were confirmed when Malfoy turned to look at Hermione.

"I apologize," He said stiffly.

"No, no, no." Harry interrupted before Hermione could say anything. He didn't actually have to, but after he said that word, he would make Malfoy work for it. "You're going to apologize and say what you apologize for, you're going to call her by her name, and you're going to ask if she forgives you."

Malfoy glared at him before trying again.

"I apologize for calling you a mudblood, Miss Granger. Will you accept my apology?" Harry was sure that saying those words caused Malfoy physical pain.

He turned to Hermione and saw that she was smirking. Knowing that she probably would try to wind Malfoy up more, he shot her a look that said to drop it and accept the apology. The job was done - there was no need to keep antagonizing the Malfoy heir. She must've noticed because her smirk faltered a little.

"Thank you, Mister Malfoy. I accept your apology."

As soon as she said that, Malfoy spun on the spot and left the compartment, slamming the door behind him. Harry immediately began laughing as he dropped into his seat. When he noticed that Hermione was glaring at him, he laughed even harder.

"Why did you stop me?" She asked tightly when he had finally finished laughing.

"Why did you stop?" He smirked at her. "I never forced you to do anything."

Harry could tell that she was fighting a blush as she straightened herself. "I assumed you must have had a good reason."

"I did." He replied but didn't elaborate, much to Hermione's chagrin.

"Was it true? What you said about the Malfoys?"

Harry took a deep breath. "It wasn't a lie." Hermione raised an eyebrow at him. "Not really. After the war, Lucius Malfoy got off on all of his crimes because he claimed that he was under the Imperius Curse, which is a terrible curse that takes away a person's free will and basically turns them into a slave. After that, they tried to show the world that they didn't agree with Voldemort's ideals by doing the bare minimum. Their companies started hiring muggle-borns, granted only enough to keep up with the new pro muggle-born laws, and they voted in favour of some of them, the most basic and useless of them. They also stopped using the M-word and other derogatory terms in public, but it's still obvious to everyone that they're prejudiced. It wouldn't surprise people, for example, if he called you that word."

"Then why did Malfoy apologize?"

"Because I don't think Malfoy knows that." He winked at her. "I only know because my father's favourite hobby is ranting about the Malfoy family. I'm pretty sure that in a couple of weeks, he'll realize I played him."

Hermione looked at him for a moment before she too began laughing. "I like you."

Harry shot her a smug smile and was about to pick up his book to continue reading, but stopped himself when he remembered something.

"How do you know Malfoy?" She gave him a questioning look. "It was obvious by the way you were glaring at him before he even spoke a word to you. Not to mention he knew your name."

"I met him at Diagon Alley," Hermione said. "I decided to go back to Flourish and Blotts for more books, and he was there. We started talking, pretty basic stuff about Hogwarts. It was all fairly normal until he asked for my name, and when I told it to him and said I was a muggle-born, he sneered at me. He called me a mudblood and other slurs before leaving the store because 'he wouldn't buy anything in a store that allowed filth like me.'"

"Yikes. Malfoy's going to be a piece of work."

Hermione snorted. "That's putting it mildly."

The two of them chuckled at that.

"So, what house are you hoping to be in?" She asked him.

"My father expects me to be a Gryffindor. You?"

Hermione laughed. "Nice way to avoid the question. You tell me, and then I'll tell you."

Harry narrowed his eyes at her before shrugging. "I want to be a Slytherin. I think that Voldemort and his cronies gave it a bad name. The house has what I consider to be the best values of the four. It's just unfortunate that people like Malfoy make it seem like the house for bigots."

Hermione looked at him suspiciously. "You say Voldemort's name. I didn't think you would. I haven't met a pure-blood or half-blood that says his name out loud."

"Why would I be scared about someone who's dead?" Hermione nodded as if it was obvious. "Besides, even if he were alive, the only thing you do by calling him You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is giving him more power, something I don't plan on doing."

"Most witches and wizards don't think like you."

"Most witches and wizards are idiots."

Hermione continued to look at him appraisingly before she finally smiled. "Well, I'm glad that I won't be the only one who thinks like that in Slytherin."

"You want to be a Slytherin?"

"I'm _going_ to be a Slytherin," She spoke as if challenging him to disagree.

Harry raised his hands in surrender. "I'm just surprised, that's all. I had expected you to be a Ravenclaw because you seem to love books."

"You seem to love books too."

"It's just, there hasn't been a muggle-born in Slytherin for over three centuries. I don't doubt for a second that you would make a fine Slytherin - I just didn't expect it."

She smiled at him. "Thank you."

The rest of the train ride went by extremely quick. The two of them started talking more, though occasionally pausing to read in intervals. He learned that Hermione's parents were dentists when she declined any sweets from the food trolley. Since Hermione told Harry that she didn't have anything to eat, and she wouldn't accept any sweets from him, he decided that he also wouldn't buy anything.

Thankfully, there weren't any more visits from Noah, Malfoy, or anyone else, leaving the two of them alone for the rest of the train ride.

Far quicker than Harry had expected it to, the train reached Hogsmeade station and the two of them disembarked, leaving their luggage behind as instructed.

"Firs' years! Firs' years, over here!"

"Come on," Hermione told him, and they followed the voice, reaching a small crowd of first years that were huddled around an incredibly tall man.

"Firs' years here! All the firs' years over here!"

A few minutes later, the man finally nodded to himself before leading them through a narrow, wild path through the forest. Every one of Harry's instincts screamed at him for following a man he didn't know, in the dark and through a path that winded through the middle of the woods. But Harry continued walking with the other first years in a silence that was suddenly broken a few minutes later.

"Ooooooh!" Harry heard other kids exclaim, and it took him a second to see why.

Right in front of them, there was an enormous black lake. On a pier on the water's edge, a dozen boats were docked, waiting for them. But that wasn't the reason why people were in awe. Right in front of them, Hogwarts Castle was displayed in all its glory. Harry had to admit that it was an incredible sight, especially at night, even if he didn't exclaim his amazement like some of the others.

Harry got on the nearest boat and extended his hand to help Hermione.

"And they say that chivalry is dead." Hermione grinned at him.

"You shouldn't believe everything you hear, Miss Granger."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Two other kids Harry didn't know joined them in the boat, and neither he nor Hermione said anything else for the rest of the ride.

Soon enough, they arrived at the castle where Hagrid handed them over to Professor McGonagall, who escorted them to an empty chamber off the hall.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall began. "In a couple of minutes, you will be sorted into your houses. They are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. While you're here, your house will be like your family. You'll have classes with other students in your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend your free time in the house common room. Your triumphs will earn the house points and your rule-breaking will lose them. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will be awarded the house cup."

Professor McGonagall left the room for a few minutes, during which someone seemed to have started a rumour about fighting trolls or some other ridiculous sorting ceremony. James had already told him that the first years would be sorted by a hat and Hermione didn't really seem bothered, so they were silent during the whole ordeal. Soon enough, Professor McGonagall returned and led them into the Great Hall.

They walked through the Great Hall, some marvelling at its grandiose appearance, others in awe at the sky ceiling, and yet others incredibly nervous about the sorting. They passed the tables and reached a small wooden stool that was in front of the table where the teachers were seated.

The hat started singing some strange song, but Harry paid no mind to it. Instead, he studied the teachers.

Most of them looked normal and pleasant enough, but there were two who caught Harry's attention. The first one was a professor that was wearing a purple turban around his head. He was turned around and seemed to be talking to himself, something Harry thought was a bit weird and creeped him out. The other teacher was wearing black robes and had greasy hair. Harry was startled when the man fixed his glare from someone behind Harry to him. As the teacher's eyes pierced him, Harry held himself high and stared right back.

He heard Noah hiss behind him.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked.

"Nothing, I'm fine."

Harry ignored them and continued waiting for the hat to finish his song. When he finished, Professor McGonagall stepped forward, holding a long roll of parchment.

She started calling out names, but Harry once again paid no mind to it, zoning out and admiring the scenery.

"Granger, Hermione!" Professor McGonagall called out after a while, and Harry felt himself being pulled back to reality.

"Good luck," He whispered to Hermione who gave him a smile before she confidently strode up and sat down on the stool.

Harry was surprised when five minutes passed and Hermione was still sitting there with the hat on her head. Every other student up until now had taken less than a minute to be sorted, so he didn't know why Hermione was taking so much longer. Suddenly, the hat shouted.

"SLYTHERIN!"

To say that the Professors were shocked would be an understatement. All of them were gawking at Hermione; Professor McGonagall's jaw dropped slightly. Even Dumbledore lost his calm mask and actually looked shocked. Harry cast a small glance at Malfoy and saw that the boy was doing no better than the adults.

Hermione, on the other hand, didn't look perturbed. She stood up confidently and bravely winked at him before she walked to the Slytherin table as if she had always belonged there.

It took a couple of seconds for Professor McGonagall to get past her shock and call out other students. Other people passed. Daphne Greengrass went to Slytherin, Antony Goldstein went to Ravenclaw, Neville Longbottom went to Gryffindor, Draco Malfoy went to Slytherin.

"Potter, Harry!"

Harry steeled himself and was walking towards the hat when he heard it.

"Did she say, Potter?"

" _The_ Harry Potter? The Boy Who Lived?"

"That's not The Boy Who Lived!"

"No, that's just his twin brother. Noah Potter is The Boy Who Lived"

"Noah Potter has a brother?"

"I knew he had a little sister, but I didn't know he had a brother."

"Hopefully this will be quick. I can't wait to see where Noah is sorted."

Murmurs like this started spreading like wildfire, and Harry fought the urge to turn around and sneer at everyone. He was more than just Noah Potter's brother; he was his own man and far better than _The Boy Who Lived,_ and he was going to prove it to them. He was going to make everyone realize the truth he already knew.

They were fawning over the wrong twin.

Harry turned around and glared at the rest of the Hall as Professor McGonagall put the hat on the top of his head, and it immediately dropped over his eyes.

"Hmmm," A voice that sounded inside his head spoke. "Difficult. Very difficult. A lot of courage, I see. There's nerve and daring, yes plenty of it. Not a bad mind, either. But that's not all. No, there's a great deal of power, determination, and talent. And the thirst - oh my goodness, yes - the thirst to prove yourself. All the makings of a great leader are here, but where do I put you?"

"Slytherin," Harry pleaded. "Put me in Slytherin."

"Slytherin, huh? Why not Gryffindor? You could do great things in Gryffindor, it would allow you to harness that bravery and courage and use it to prove yourself."

"I don't want to _do_ great things. I want to _be_ great. Gryffindor won't help me with that, Slytherin will."

"Interesting, very interesting. You are right, of course. You will be great in Slytherin, it's all here in your head. But your answer is intriguing nonetheless. You are a fascinating wizard, Mr Potter. I look forward to seeing what you do."

Before Harry could ask about the hat's response, it bellowed. "SLYTHERIN!"

Harry stood up and grinned at the hundreds of stunned faces in front of him. He turned to look at Professor McGonagall, and he noticed that she was just as stunned as when Hermione had been sorted. He looked at the other teachers and almost laughed when he saw that Dumbledore's jaw had actually dropped while the greasy-haired teacher that was glaring at him before looked like he was going to vomit. He looked back at the students. The Slytherins all looked stunned, all except Hermione who was beaming at him. The other three houses had got past their shock at this point and were glaring at him. He looked down at the rest of the first years and wasn't surprised when he saw both Ron and Noah staring at him with disgust.

He paid them no mind as he began to proudly walk towards the Slytherin table. That's when it began.

"SLIMY SNAKE!"

"TRAITOR!"

"COWARD!"

"DARK WIZARD!"

Shouts and murmurs condemning him started spreading around the Great Hall but Harry couldn't get himself to care. A few hours ago, most of these people didn't even know that he existed. He had been a nobody to them, and now they were acting as if he owed them something. As if he was supposed to just bow down and do whatever they wanted.

They expected him to just be plain Harry Potter, the insignificant twin to The Boy Who Lived.

They had no idea how wrong they were.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you MasterChaos1, WH Rutledge, and Proton6 for beta-ing
> 
> Next chapter, we'll get to see how Hogwarts reacts to its two new Slytherins.


	3. Welcome To Slytherin

_**PREVIOUSLY ON… HARRY POTTER AND THE HIDDEN THREAT** _

" _Just admit it, Harry! You're jealous. It's fine. I'd also be jealous of me if I were you. It must suck to be the insignificant twin."_

" _The insignificant twin!?" Harry exclaimed, incredulous. "Those are some strong words for a person whose crowning achievement is the fact that some deformed bell-end gave you an ugly scar."_

_..._

" _Thank you," She said, smiling genuinely at him. After a moment, Harry returned the gesture. "I'm Hermione Granger… And you?"_

" _Harry Potter." They shook hands and sat across from each other._

**...**

" _That's Noah Potter?" Harry turned to Hermione who was looking at him carefully._

" _You don't seem impressed," He said, raising an eyebrow at her._

" _There was nothing to be impressed about." She shrugged and went back to her book._

_Harry laughed. "I like you."_

**...**

_The boy analysed him for a moment. "This is Crabbe, and this is Goyle." He gestured at the two boys behind him. "And I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy." He said, extending his hand towards him._

_Harry had heard about the Malfoys, of course. His father always spoke of how the Malfoys were Death Eaters and had actually explicitly warned him to stay away from them or any other Slytherin. But Draco hadn't done anything terrible yet, and Harry would not pass judgement on him for his father's actions._

_Harry stood up and shook the boy's hand. "Potter, Harry Potter."_

_**...** _

" _Granger, Hermione!" Professor McGonagall called out._

" _Good luck," He whispered to Hermione who gave him a smile before she confidently strode up and sat down on the stool._

" _SLYTHERIN!" The hat shouted._

_Hermione stood up and bravely winked at him before she walked to the Slytherin table as if she had always belonged there._

**...**

" _You are a fascinating wizard, Mr Potter. I look forward to seeing what you do."_

_Before Harry could ask about the hat's response, it bellowed. "SLYTHERIN!"_

_Shouts and murmurs condemning him started spreading around the Great Hall but Harry couldn't get himself to care. A few hours ago, most of these people didn't even know that he existed. He had been a nobody to them, and now they were acting as if he owed them something. As if he was supposed to just bow down and do whatever they wanted._

_They expected him to just be plain Harry Potter, the insignificant twin to The Boy Who Lived._

_They had no idea how wrong they were.  
_

* * *

_**CHAPTER 3: WELCOME TO SLYTHERIN** _

_**First-Year Dormitories, Slytherin Dungeons  
September 2, 1991  
6:00 a.m.** _

"Wake up!" A voice yelled, rudely jerking Harry awake. He sat up, opened the curtains, and grabbed his glasses from the nightstand before he looked up. An older student he didn't recognize stood in the entrance to the dormitory, an angry expression on his face. "Wake up!" He continued shouting until Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Zabini, and Nott were out of their beds. "Professor Snape will be here in half an hour to talk to you. He'll meet you down in the common room and expects all of you to be on time." Without waiting for a response, the boy turned around and left.

Harry fought the urge to groan as he headed towards the showers. The other boys sleepily sat back down on their own beds. He wanted to make a good impression with his Head of House, and he wouldn't be able to do that without freshening up and being fully awake. He needed his coffee to survive the mornings, and it was clear that he wouldn't be getting it for quite a while, so a cold shower would have to do the trick.

Twenty-five minutes later, Harry was walking down the steps of the dormitories, ready for the day in his Slytherin robes. He entered the common room and saw that it was empty except for one person.

"Good morning, Miss Granger." He greeted Hermione who was also in her Slytherin robes.

"Mister Potter," She said warmly while smiling at him.

"You wouldn't happen to know what all of this is about, would you?" He sat down beside her on the couch.

"Like the prefect from last night said, Professor Snape was supposed to give us an introduction to Slytherin last night, but apparently he was indisposed."

"Ah, so he's going to do that now?" Hermione didn't seem to consider his question worthy of an answer as she went back to her book. Harry couldn't help but smile in amusement.

Just before the scheduled meeting time, the rest of the first-years came down from the dormitories. Even though they were in their Slytherin robes, they still looked like they had just gotten out of bed - most likely because they did. Draco, his two cronies, and Parkinson sneered at Hermione before taking the couch beside them. Zabini, Greengrass, Davis, and Bulstrode all had neutral masks that gave nothing away and sat together on the couch in front of Malfoy. Nott didn't look at anyone as he sat in an armchair, a permanent frown on his face.

Suddenly, the entrance to the common room opened, and the greasy-haired professor came in, his black cloak billowing dramatically behind him. It was only then that Harry realized that _he_ was Professor Snape.

He'd heard of Severus Snape before, of course - his father never stopped talking about his school day pranks, and Snape had been one of the main targets. However, Harry had never met the man in person or even seen a picture of him. He had been hoping he could make a good impression with his Head Of House so that the professor wouldn't just see him as a miniature version of his father. Unfortunately, Harry knew he was too late by the way Snape was glaring at him.

Professor Snape stood in front of the first-years, gazing at each of them appraisingly for a couple of moments. When Snape's eyes reached him, Harry returned the stare, not in a disrespectful way but holding himself high nonetheless. A couple of moments later, Snape looked towards Hermione, who lifted her chin and straightened her back as soon as he did.

"I am sure all of you are aware of who I am," Snape began. "But I'll introduce myself for anyone without the sufficient mental faculties to make a simple conjecture," Harry observed that he turned toward Crabbe and Goyle at the last comment. "I am Professor Severus Snape, your Head of House and the Potions Master of this school. Last night, the sorting hat placed each and every one of you in Slytherin. Why it placed _some_ of you here," He drawled as he gazed at Harry, "I do not know. However, that doesn't change the fact that you are Slytherins and are, therefore, stuck with me."

The Professor put his hands behind his back as he began pacing in front of them.

"I am sure that Professor McGonagall already explained to you the basic rules of Hogwarts and the House System. If you did not pay attention or do not remember, you can look them up in the library, I won't repeat them for you. What I will do is explain the specific rules and systems for Slytherin House. These rules take precedence over the Hogwarts rules, and you won't be physically able to speak of them to anyone who doesn't know them. If I find out one of you dunderheads tried to do such a thing, I will make sure you regret it."

Harry's curiosity as to how it could be physically impossible to speak of this with people of other houses was dampened by Snape's harsh tone, and he wasn't the only one there that seemed to take his threat seriously.

"I assume you were at least competent enough to notice the hourglasses inside the glass case by the headboard of your respective beds?" All of them nodded silently. "Those hourglasses work similarly to the ones in the Entrance Hall, except they do not record the points of the house. They record your personal points. Every point you win or lose will not just be recorded in the school hourglasses. They will also appear in your personal hourglass. However, if the castle disagrees with any points awarded or removed by professors or prefects, it will not affect your personal points. Other actions that the castle itself considers representative of the Slytherin traits will add points to your hourglass-" Snape stopped pacing when he noticed Hermione raising her hand. "Yes, Miss Granger?"

"Professor, could you please elaborate on what you mean about the castle recognizing our actions?"

Snape studied her carefully for a moment before replying, starting to pace once again. "During your stay here at Hogwarts, you will learn that there is no place that is completely safe, no area where the castle doesn't see or listen. Every single thing you say, every action you make, any secret you hold or plan you concoct, the castle will know of it."

"And what does the castle do with this information?" Hermione arched an eyebrow.

"I would have already explained if you hadn't interrupted me." Snape snapped. Hermione, however, did not seem taken aback by the harsh tone, but rather stared at Snape expectantly. "As I said, the castle uses the knowledge to regulate the points in your hourglasses. It can add points for actions it considers to be of a true Slytherin, or it can take points away for any action it considers… not worthy. The points in your hourglasses won't reset at the end of every year like the Hogwarts hourglasses. Instead, they will accumulate over the next seven years. Yes, Miss Granger?" Snape drawled testily as Hermione's hand once again went up. Harry noticed all of Draco's group sneering at Hermione. Whether it was in annoyance for her interruptions or because they did it every time they looked at her, Harry didn't know.

"Is this system unique to Slytherin house or does every other house have it?"

"It is unique to this house and no one who isn't or wasn't a Slytherin knows about it. As I was saying, these points are important and will affect you in many ways, such as the choosing of Prefects and nominations for Head Boy and Head Girl." Pretty much everyone leaned forward at that. Harry noticed that Malfoy and Parkinson had a hungry glint in their eyes, and he was sure everyone in the room had it too, including himself. "Unlike every other house, the Slytherin Head does not choose the Prefects. Instead, they are chosen by the castle itself based on the points in your hourglasses, and there is nothing I or any other teacher can do to prevent you from accepting those positions if you are chosen."

"These points won't just affect your chance at becoming Prefect; they will have an impact on you from the moment the first classes begin. At the end of every month, your hourglasses will document how many points you have at the time and inform me of the results. The person in each year group with the highest points at that time will be awarded the complete study guides of all the subjects at Hogwarts." If Harry had thought Hermione couldn't look more eager, he was dead wrong. She seemed ready to leap off of her seat in excitement. "However, you will only get the study guides for your own year, and not those of years above you or below you. You will not be able to remember the contents of the study guides after the month is over until you open it again. And if someone else has the study guide now, you will not be able to remember its contents until you get it back... _if_ you get it back that is."

Snape stopped pacing and looked at each of them with a hard expression.

"You are not allowed to make copies of the study guides and will be punished if you try to do so. I will discreetly give the study guides to you without your peers noticing. The official winner of each month will not be announced. You will not be able to see your peer's personal hourglasses to compare points, and you will not be able to use any magical means to force them into confessing. The winner of the study guides will remain unknown, and what they chose to do with the information and the study guides is up to them. They are free to do whatever they please with them except for sharing the study guides with students not of Slytherin House."

"At the end of the year, the top three students of the house will be given an automatic Outstanding on Potions, with the obvious exception of your fifth and seventh years since those years are evaluated by the OWLs and NEWTs respectively. The best of each year who didn't manage to get the top three places of the house will be exempted from the final exam with an Outstanding. However, to keep up appearances, you must actually take the final exam. If any of you dunderheads decide to skip it, you will lose your automatic Outstanding in the class or in the exam depending on what you earned."

Snape paused, letting Harry and the others absorb the information. If anything, Harry thought the competition would make things more interesting. He couldn't help but feel excited for the term to begin and a chance to earn those study guides. By the looks on everyone else's faces, it wasn't going to be easy.

"You are not to bring any shame to Slytherin house." Snape continued after a couple of moments. "While I do not… _condone_ the breaking of Hogwarts rules, I will not get involved in whatever you do in your personal lives. I'll allow you to do virtually anything you please, with some obvious exceptions such as violent crimes. However, you must follow this simple rule: Do. Not. Get. Caught. It's that simple, do not get caught breaking any Hogwarts rules or bring shame to Slytherin House and I will not bother you. However, if I find out that any of you have been caught, I will make sure your punishment is at least twice as unfavourable as the usual punishment. This, however, does not apply to the Slytherin rules: they are not to be broken under any circumstance. Yes, Miss Granger?"

"Sir, you said previously that there is no place in the castle where it's completely safe. How is it possible to not get caught if the castle is always looking and listening?"

Professor Snape raised an eyebrow. "Miss Granger, as I have already stated, the castle is always aware of what you do and what you plan. However, the castle doesn't answer to me or to any other teacher. It doesn't even answer to the Headmaster. Whatever the castle sees you do, it will tell no one. Rather, it will either reward you or punish you with your personal points. Keep in mind that the castle won't punish you for breaking Hogwarts rules as long as you don't get caught."

"Then who does the castle answer to?" Hermione asked the question Harry had been thinking of before he could even open his mouth.

"I am under a magical vow that doesn't permit me to reveal that knowledge, Miss Granger. And even if I were not, it is of no importance to you. There has never been a student who has ever met them, and neither has any Head of House. I personally have only talked to a proxy, so you shouldn't concern yourself with that."

Snape gave a deep sigh before he continued.

"Finally, the most important rule. I don't care if you like each other or if you don't. I don't even care if you hate each other. No matter your personal relationships between yourselves or any other Slytherin, you will not take your in-house problems outside of this common room. You will present a united Slytherin front against the other houses and support each other, even if you loathe the other person. If you see someone insulting or attacking another house-mate, you are to defend them. In private, you're allowed to hate each other, act however you want or do whatever you please, but the one thing you cannot do is to take in-house disagreements to the outside where everyone can see. Slytherin will stand together."

"If you break these rules you will be gradually punished by the castle itself, it can range from a simple loss of points to not being eligible for the study guides or losing any chance of becoming a prefect. However, if you break too many rules or do something the castle deems as intolerable you will be severely punished. Your personal hourglass will shatter and will be unrepairable. Furthermore, you will also lose any privileges you had or could have gained, and you will be shunned by the house and left on your own. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes, sir." All of them chorused.

"Good. I shall not repeat myself and these rules will not be found anywhere else. If you forget them, then you will have to figure out on your own how to relearn them. I will be most displeased if anyone asks me to repeat the rules." Snape glared at everyone, but Harry noticed he lingered on him a second more than the others. "Before you leave, I have brought you your timetables for the year. You are not to lose them and are to be on time to every class. I will not have you bring a bad name to Slytherin on your first day."

Snape went around the room handing out the timetables. Harry noticed Snape handed him his with clear disdain.

"Welcome to Slytherin." And with that, Professor Snape left the Common Room.

* * *

_**Slytherin Table, Great Hall  
8:30 a.m.** _

"Can you pass the fruit, Parkinson?" Hermione asked. If Harry didn't know any better, he would have said that there was slight amusement in her tone.

After Professor Snape's introduction, all the first-years, reluctantly, agreed to sit together at the Great Hall to display house unity. Harry could tell no one really cared, but with the knowledge of the castle constantly watching them and basing their personal points on their actions, they had all agreed that it was best to show Slytherin solidarity. Those rewards were too good to pass up because of their pride.

Parkinson turned to her with an impassive face that obviously concealed a glare before she grabbed the fruit basket and handed it to Hermione with a barely noticeable harshness.

"Thanks!" Hermione shot her a smug smile.

* * *

 _ **The previous night...  
**_ _  
_"Caput Anguis." One of the prefects spoke the password, and the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room opened before the first-years.

"This is the common room where you'll spend most of your time," He began lazily. "The front side of the room is where you can spend your free time with no restrictions. In the back of the room, there's the study area, which is where you may work on assignments. The study area is warded so that sound from the rest of the common room doesn't enter, and you are expected to be completely silent there. Anyone who breaks this rule will be forbidden from entering the area again and will have to find a new place to do their homework."

The prefect turned and pointed towards the stairs at the end of the common room.

"The stairs to the left lead to the boy's dormitories and the ones to the right lead to the girl's dormitories. Since you are first-years, your dormitories are on the first level. On the top level, there's a hallway with private rooms reserved for the prefects. Do you have any questions?"

All of them shook their heads.

"Alright, you are supposed to meet Professor Snape soon, and he'll explain a few things to you. If you need any help, you may ask me or any other prefect." He lingered for a couple of moments to see if there were any other questions before leaving, going towards the stairs of the boy's dormitories.

Harry eyed the couches, and taking advantage of the fact that the common room was currently empty, he plopped down on one of them. Hermione followed suit and sat down beside him, a book immediately in her lap and opened to her last spot. Harry sighed - he really wanted to go to sleep.

"What do you think Professor Snape will tell us?" He asked Hermione.

"No idea, probably the same things that Professor McGonagall already covered," Hermione said without stopping her reading.

"You don't seem really excited about it?"

"It's late, Potter. I'd rather go to sleep, I plan on waking up early tomorrow and I don't want to go to classes without being fully awake."

Before Harry could reply, someone interrupted them.

"So, mudblood," Parkinson stood in front of them while the other first-years watched. "How did you cheat your way into Slytherin?"

Hermione did not respond; she just continued reading her book as if nothing had happened. Harry looked around the room to see most of the other first-years watching the event with impassive masks. However, Harry could tell that Malfoy was barely refraining himself from joining in with Parkinson.

 _Maybe I was wrong, I wouldn't be surprised if he sends a letter to daddy to see if what I said is true,_ he thought to himself as he adjusted his plans.

"I'm talking to you, mudblood!" Parkinson snapped again, but Hermione kept on reading. "Are you that dumb that you can't even understand!"

Harry was holding back his smirk, he was liking Hermione more and more by the minute.

"Answer me, you filthy mudblood!" The girl shrieked, not that Hermione seemed to care.

Just as the girl looked like she was about to break, Harry got an idea and thought he'd twist the knife even further.

"Parkinson, stop embarrassing yourself and just go," He drawled, trying his best not to lose his calm demeanour at the girl's reaction.

"I'm not embarrassing myself! If anything, the filthy mudblood is doing that! Can't she understand what I'm saying!?"

"Look, Parkinson. It's fine, I get your plan. Start the first day with a power play and target Hermione because she's muggle-born. Embarrass her, make her cry, put yourself on top while smearing her reputation. It was a decent idea, I would even call it a good idea if you had done it in a room filled with a bunch of seven-year-olds who were clearly fated for Gryffindor. But you forgot to take into account that Hermione is as much- no, more of a Slytherin than you will ever be. It was a mediocre plan, it failed spectacularly. Now walk away before you make yourself look worse." He finished, then leaned back casually on the couch, putting his arm over it and finally letting a smile cross over his face.

The girl fumed in silence but said nothing, instead, she angrily stormed off as everyone watched with amused faces before they quickly returned to what they had been doing before the interruption.

"You're welcome," He whispered to Hermione when everyone returned to their business.

"Oh, please Potter. You didn't do that to help me, you did that to boost your own status in the house." She rolled her eyes at him, shutting her book.

Harry grinned at her. "And you let me. You could've interrupted me and boosted your own status while putting both me and Parkinson down, but you didn't."

"Yeah, well…" She looked up from her book and mirrored his smile. "You seem like you need all the help you can get."

Harry laughed.

* * *

_**Present Day...** _

"What are we starting with?" Harry asked Hermione as she grabbed an apple from the fruit basket.

"Double Defence with the Gryffindors followed by double History with the Hufflepuffs," Hermione responded and Harry groaned out loud.

 _Perfect, my first class is with Noah. Just perfect!_ Harry thought to himself as he dropped his head on the table.

* * *

_**Defence Against The Dark Arts Classroom  
9:00 a.m.** _

The Slytherins entered the empty classroom and sat down as a group on the left side of the room. Harry and Hermione sat upfront with Greengrass and her group behind them. At the rear sat Nott, alone with Malfoy and his cronies ahead of him.

Harry and Hermione started reading their respective copies of the textbook while the other Slytherins talked in whispers. It didn't take long before the Gryffindors arrived, opening the door carelessly, making it crash against the wall, not that they cared.

Harry rolled his eyes and waited for it, and sure enough, it happened.

"So, you're a snake," Noah asked angrily as he stood in front of Harry's seat.

"You just noticed? Little brother, I am disappointed. I knew you were dumb but this is on a whole new level." Harry said with mock disappointment without looking up.

"Look, it's not too late, Harry. You can go and ask Dumbledore for a resorting, I'm sure he'll give it to you! You don't have to be a snake." Harry was surprised when Noah began pleading before seeing Hermione roll her eyes.

"What do you care? I wouldn't hang out with you even if I was a Gryffindor. You'd be with your- oh." Harry chuckled softly. "Oh, you don't really care, do you? You just think it looks bad that the brother of _The Boy Who Lived_ is a snake."

"Look, just do it! We both know you don't want to be in Slytherin!"

"Is that what you think?" Harry laughed, getting the attention of everyone in the room. "Oh, little brother, you could not be more mistaken. I _asked_ the hat to put me in Slytherin! It gave me a choice and I chose Slytherin! I have no plans of changing back. I'm where I belong."

"How could you do that!" Noah hissed. "You're my brother! You were supposed to be in Gryffindor! You know what dad thinks about the filthy snakes. They're all pure-blood bigots and supporters of You-Know-Who."

"Excuse me," Hermione looked up and glared at Noah. "I'm a proud muggle-born, thank you very much. Now, why don't you go bother some other Gryffindors and leave us alone."

Noah sneered at Hermione before looking back at Harry, but he was interrupted before he could speak up.

"Oi, Potter!" Both Harry and Noah looked back to say Malfoy walking towards them with his two goons beside him. "Not you, Potter! The other Potter, the stupid one."

"I think that means you," Harry smirked at Noah and leaned back in his seat.

"What do you want, Malfoy? This has nothing to do with you."

"That's where you're wrong, Stupid Potter," Malfoy drawled and Crabbe and Goyle laughed behind him in what Harry was sure was a practised move. "You just insulted my house and two of my house-mates. Which makes this my problem."

Noah let out a huge guffaw. "Come on, Malfoy. You expect me to believe that you of all people are defending a muggle-born and a Potter!?"

"I don't have anything against the Potters. I remember offering you a hand of friendship, Stupid Potter, an offer which you denied, but your brother seemed sensible enough to accept it." Noah's eyes widened at that. "As for Granger…" Malfoy faltered for less than a second before he composed himself. "She's a Slytherin," He forced out in a convincing tone for anyone who wasn't a Slytherin.

Noah ignored the last statement and turned towards Harry with an incredulous expression. "You're friends with Malfoy!? He's a Death Eater! A pure-blood bigot!"

Harry put his hand on his chin, as if in thought. "If I remember correctly… Draco Malfoy was about a year old when Voldemort died." Everyone around him but Hermione stiffened. "Even though I'm sure Voldemort would have recruited anyone who has enough of what he considers pure blood, but I highly doubt he was _so_ stupid as to try to recruit a baby. But, then again, if you managed to defeat him, then I somehow don't think he was the brightest tool in the shed. So, Malfoy, care to show us your left forearm and prove me right?"

"With pleasure." Malfoy grinned at him before dramatically uncovering his left arm.

"Well, would you look at that? No Dark Mark."

"Oh, shut up, Harry! You know what I mean! His father is a Death Eater!"

"My father was under the Imperius curse, Stupid Potter," Malfoy drawled. "It was proven in a court of law, what you're saying right now is slander. I suggest you go back to your other lions before I decide to send a letter to my father, detailing this defamation and seeking legal action."

Noah glared at a smug Malfoy as Harry and Hermione watched the exchange with amusement before the bell outside rang. At that moment, the door opened and the professor with a turban entered.

"Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Potter, go to your seats," He said authoritatively before confidently striding towards his desk at the front of the class.

With one last glare, Noah left the Slytherin side of the room and sat beside Ron, who was glaring at all of them. Malfoy gave him a look before he went back to his seat, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle. Harry shrugged and turned to look at the professor. He was standing before his desk, his hands behind him, as he surveyed the room, starting with the Slytherins and then moving towards the Gryffindors.

"My class time is valuable, and I expect you to respect it," The professor began in a steely tone. "This will be the last time I see a confrontation like that in this classroom. As you know, every period starts ten minutes after the hour mark and lasts fifty minutes, the beginning and end of the period marked by the bell. However, since you will only have double periods in Defence this year, the classes will last an hour and fifty minutes with a ten-minute break in the middle. The moment the bell rings and the class starts, I expect all of you to be in your seats, ready."

Harry unconsciously nodded at the professor as he began pacing in front of them.

"I am Professor Quirinus Quirrell and I will be your Professor for Defence Against The Dark Arts for the rest of your Hogwarts years. I used to be the Professor for the Muggle Studies class, but since Professor Dumbledore needed someone with similar qualifications to mine, he asked me to take on this post and I accepted."

"A little bit about myself, I attended Hogwarts where I was sorted into Ravenclaw. I graduated in 1977 with 10 NEWTs, including Outstandings in Defence, Transfiguration, Charms, Muggle Studies, and Runes." Harry raised his eyebrows at that. "After I left Hogwarts the war was just starting, and I was convinced to stay and fight. I became an Auror and fought against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his Death Eaters until he was finally defeated in '81." Harry glanced at Noah and nearly sneered when he saw his smug face. "I was awarded an Order of Merlin third class for my efforts during the war. After it was over, I resigned from the Auror Corps and finally did what I wanted to do. I went abroad and got my masteries in Defence, Transfiguration, and Muggle Studies before coming back to Hogwarts in '85 and started working as the muggle studies teacher."

He paused as he returned to his desk in complete silence that no one dared to break.

"Now, that's enough about me. Since this is your first class of the term, all of you will stand up and introduce yourselves to your classmates and me, with a small overview of yourselves. After that, we can begin with our course, starting with ghosts. Let's do this in alphabetical order, shall we? Miss Brown, you're first."

Lavender Brown stood up and started speaking, but Harry wasn't listening to her. He was staring at Professor Quirrell with interest.

After seeing the Professor last night before he was sorted, he assumed that Quirrell would be… _different_. He didn't know how or why exactly; he hadn't even seen the man's face. But whatever he was expecting Quirrell to be, it wasn't this.

* * *

_**Potions Classroom  
September 3, 1991** _

_**3:10 p.m.** _

This was their second class with the Gryffindors, but Harry was ignoring the raucous din coming from that side of the room. He was going over his Potions book once again, reviewing the potion to cure boils, which he considered to be the most likely topic for Snape to discuss today. Harry was doubly determined in making a good impression on Professor Snape since it was clear he didn't like him much, and so he was reviewing as much as possible so that he could be ready to participate in the class.

Thankfully, Noah didn't bother picking a fight today, probably knowing they were in the dungeons and in Professor Snape's domain. That left Harry with enough time to read in peace and prepare himself.

He was startled when the door burst open and crashed against the wall with a loud _bang_. He turned to see Professor Snape striding briskly towards his desk. As he did so, Harry closed his book, placing it beside him as he grabbed his quill and some parchment and set it so that he would be ready to start copying notes.

Professor Snape sat behind his desk, grabbing a long parchment before he started reciting names. He took attendance and everything was normal until he reached the Potters.

"Potter, Harry."

"Here, sir."

Snape glared at him for a second before continuing.

"Potter, Noah." He drawled before he set the parchment down and looked at the boy in question. "Our new celebrity."

Malfoy and his goons started sniggering but stopped when they realized Noah was wearing a proud smile. Snape didn't seem delighted by the display and continued with the roll call. After he finished, he stood up and walked to the front of the room.

"You are here to learn the subtle science of potions," Professor Snape began, having the complete attention of the class. "There will be little to no foolish wand-waving here, but do not make the mistake that just because a wand isn't used constantly that this class isn't critical. I don't expect any of you to understand the beautiful complexities of the art of potion-making, the intricate way in which they can bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses if done right or lead to disastrous results even if slightly wrong. Whether you understand or care for it is not my concern, I am here to instruct you on Potions, how you can use them to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper on death."

Before Snape could continue, there were some snickers that broke through the quiet classroom.

"Potter!" Snape snapped and strode towards Noah and Ron, who were trying to hide their laughter behind their hands.

"Yes, sir?" Noah asked in a mocking manner.

"Five points for interrupting the class and for using that tone with me, Potter." Noah leaned back as if he didn't care. "Since you're interrupting my class, I will assume you know the whole course for this year. So tell me, Potter, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

"I don't know," Noah shrugged casually. "A potion?"

"A potion? Very smart, Potter, I could not have expected better. You clearly got your father's brains." Noah looked furious but Snape continued before Noah could reply. "Another five points for your cheek, Potter. Since it's clear that Potter has no clue, let's ask his brother and see if all the Potters share the same mediocre brain." He turned towards Harry. "Potter! Tell me, what do you get?"

Harry racked his brains trying to remember what the answer. He remembered reading about it before, but it was from near the end of the book. It wasn't something he'd thought they'd cover until April at the earliest. He saw Hermione lazily raise her hand beside him, something that didn't help him at all.

"Miss Granger, lower your hand. I asked Potter the question." Snape said in a harsh voice as he walked towards them. "Well, Potter?" He asked in a mocking tone.

 _Right!_ Harry mentally exclaimed as he finally remembered before looking up to Snape. "It's Draught of the Living Dead, sir."

"So you opened your book before class. Impressive for a Potter. Now tell me, Potter, where would you look if I told you to find a bezoar?"

Thankfully, this was one thing he remembered easily.

"The stomach of a goat, sir." He paused and couldn't contain himself. "Although, if you were to ask me to go and find one right now, I'd probably look in the potions storeroom in the castle since I think that's closer than any goat."

"Five points for your cheek," Snape spoke in a threatening whisper and Harry could tell Hermione was glaring at him. "However...you are correct. A bezoar is a stone that can be found in the stomach of a goat. It seems that at least one Potter has enough mental capacity to retain a little bit of knowledge. Final question, Potter: what is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

 _Damn_ , Harry thought as he closed his eyes, trying to remember the answer.

He had read the section on wolfsbane a couple of times, and he had thought that he remembered everything about it, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember anything about monkshood. He could vaguely remember the term, so he had heard it before, but he didn't remember anything specific about it. He began snapping his fingers as he tried his best to remember where he had heard it, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't recall the information.

"Five seconds, Potter. We don't have all day." Snape said, breaking him out of his thoughts. "Five, four, three, two, one. Well, Potter?"

"I don't know, sir," Harry said slightly dejectedly.

"Pity, I would say I was disappointed, but then again, I never expected anything from someone of your parentage. For your information, Potter, monkshood and wolfsbane are the same plant which also goes by the name aconite." Snape walked back to the front of the room (surprising Harry by not giving him any points for his two right answers). "Clearly, fame isn't everything, isn't that right, Mister and Mister Potter?"

After that, Snape separated the class into pairs, and Harry was glad that he and Hermione were together instead of being paired up with Nott, who went with Longbottom. Snape wrote the instructions for the boils-curing potion on the blackboard before going around the room, watching each pair as they attempted to make the potion.

After a while, Harry noticed that Snape seemed to linger more at his table and at Noah's. He started harassing Noah for every small mistake he and Ron made. Whenever he watched him and Hermione, Snape couldn't find anything to criticize, try as he might. However, when he did find a small error, he yelled at Harry for minutes on end while ignoring Hermione.

In the end, Harry and Hermione managed to easily create a perfect cure for boils with five minutes to spare. When they called Professor Snape to come and check their potion, he carefully looked for anything that was off, even slightly. Even though the potion was practically perfect, Snape didn't like the shade of it and gave them both an Acceptable for the day.

"He doesn't seem to like you much," Hermione noted angrily as she put her things away in her book bag.

"Yeah," Harry replied absently as he cleaned up after himself while listening to Snape berate Noah for what seemed like the hundredth time today.

"Do you know why?"

"He has hated my father ever since they met at Hogwarts, and now I assume he hates me for being his son."

Hermione huffed in annoyance before glaring at him. He felt a pang of guilt over her not getting the Outstanding she earned because of him.

"You better find a way to fix it, because I'm not getting mediocre grades because of some petty grudge between your father and Professor Snape," Hermione said matter-of-factly, breaking him from his stupor. "Now, we're going to the library to finish our History essay, and then we'll start reading ahead on Herbology."

"I don't remember agreeing to that." He snorted.

Hermione arched an eyebrow at him. "Oh, you'll go. I know you want to be top of the class and get those study guides just as badly as I do, and we both know it's beneficial for both of us if we study together."

"I can study fine on my own and beat you for those study guides." He winked at her playfully.

"I'm sure you can, and maybe you'll beat me to them for some months, maybe I'll beat you to them other months. But we both know we're not the only ones who want those study guides, and I'm sure the others won't go easy on us. I'll make a deal with you - we work together and study together, and if one of us gets the study guides, we'll share them with the other."

Harry thought for a moment before he realized something, and he laughed. "Well, when you put it like that, it's not like I have a choice, do I?"

"Whatever do you mean?" She asked in a way that was way too innocent.

"There's no way I can't refuse your little deal," He grinned at her. "That was a pretty smart way of increasing your odds of getting the study guides and promoting house unity at the same time. I'm sure you'll be getting personal points for that. This is not only a good deal for you, but also for me, so I would probably get points too for accepting it, but if I refuse such a beneficial deal because of some sort of competitive or prideful instinct, I will most likely lose points. There's no way where I can refuse you without losing."

"Oh," Hermione smirked at him, "I didn't realize. It must have skipped my mind." She singsonged making Harry roll his eyes at her.

"For the record, I was going to accept either way, but since there's no way I can refuse, then I will graciously accept your offer, Miss Granger."

"How chivalrous, Mister Potter," Hermione said with a mock curtsy.

"Only for you," He smirked at her, and she rolled her eyes. "However, I don't plan on being played, Granger. How can you guarantee that you'll share the study guides with me if you do win them?"

Hermione looked pensive for a minute. "I'll find a way before the month ends. If I don't, then you are free to break our arrangement."

"I'll hold you to that then." He extended his hand. "You have yourself a deal, Granger."

"It's been a couple of days, Harry. I think we're past calling each other by our last names." She shook his hand.

"Spoilsport," He snorted, Hermione didn't seem amused. "Fine, Hermione. I'll break our little game for you."

She smiled at him just as the bell rang.

"Alright! Class is over!" Snape called out as he walked to the centre of the room. "You will leave your cauldrons with your names on my desk. For homework, you will write an essay on the proper brewing of the cure for boils, at least fifteen inches in length. You are dismissed." The professor sat behind his desk as the other students followed his instructions.

Harry stared at Snape for a couple of moments before looking at Hermione. "I'll meet you in the library in ten minutes."

"Alright," She shrugged and went to grab their cauldron.

"I'll hand it in, you go on ahead."

Hermione nodded before grabbing her book bag and leaving the room. It wasn't until a couple of minutes later that everyone had placed their cauldrons on Professor Snape's desk and left the room, leaving the two of them alone.

"What do you want, Potter? I don't have all day." Snape commanded without standing up, his eyes on a book in front of him.

"I'm not my father," Harry said simply as he walked towards the desk with his and Hermione's cauldron.

"I would not have noticed if you had not told me," He drawled without looking up.

"Well, you treat me like I'm him," Harry shrugged. "I was sure you must have mistaken me for him. I just thought I'd inform you."

Snape looked up and glared at him. "It may have not crossed your mind, Potter, but I am a busy man who has to grade these potions and plan out your next classes. What are you still doing here?"

"I know what my father did to you, Professor. I know about your rivalry. I know why you hate him and to be honest, I don't blame you for it. My father was a bully who did whatever he wanted and was prejudiced against every Slytherin. Maybe some of them deserved it, I'm sure others didn't. I'm not here to excuse my father or say you shouldn't hate him, that's not up to me. All I'm saying is that I'm not my father, and I'm not my brother. I'd appreciate it if you didn't treat me like them."

"You think you know everything that went on between your parents and me, but I honestly doubt that you do." Snape stood up, towering over him. "You may not be your father, Potter, but you certainly act like him. You are arrogant, you are disrespectful with authority, you come into my classroom and start asking things of me as if I owe you anything."

"I'm not asking anything, sir," Harry said calmly as he looked up at him. "I don't want you to give me preferential treatment or start worshipping the ground I walk on. I'm just asking you to forget your prejudices against my father and treat me for who I am. Otherwise, you would be just as bad as James Potter."

Snape stared at him emotionlessly, but Harry ignored it. He turned and grabbed his book bag from his seat before he faced Snape again.

"Professor Snape, to be honest, I wasn't sure you would be able to get past your hatred for my father and treat me like my own person. It's hard to ignore what he did, and I'm sure I'm the spitting image of James Potter during your Hogwarts years. Like I said, I don't blame you, I just thought I'd try to make an effort to show you that I'm not my father and that I'm my own person trying to make my own name for myself. You can hate me all you want, I don't really care. Like you said, the castle itself is the one judging me and determining my personal points and there's nothing you can do to stop it if it makes me top of the class, Prefect, or Head Boy. I only ask that you don't pass your hatred for my father onto Hermione or anyone else that ends up being my partner in potions. I wouldn't want their grades to suffer because of me."

With that, he turned around and started walking out of the room.

"Potter!" Snape snapped, and Harry stopped in his tracks right at the door, turning around and waiting for the professor to speak. Snape stared at him for a couple of moments before standing up and walking towards him. He stopped right in front of Harry and gazed into his eyes as if analysing his very soul. Despite his discomfort, Harry did not shy away from him. It wasn't until a couple of moments later (that seemed like an eternity) that Snape spoke in a voice lower than a whisper.

"You are a Slytherin, Potter, and you will learn that nothing here is freely given. Everything you are and everything you have you will earn through your own hard work and effort. You are not your father, but you have yet to prove yourself to be anything other than his son. If you want people to respect you for who you are, you are going to have to work for it."

Harry stared right back into Snape's black eyes.

"Yes, sir."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you MasterChaos1, Proton6, and WH Rutledge for beta-ing the chapter!
> 
> Meet Professor Quirrell. I hate Quirrel in canon, he's basically the main villain of PS, and yet he barely appears. His plan about becoming a stuttering fool to remove suspicions from him is also pretty ridiculous. All the teachers and most of the students already knew him and how he was, to change his personality completely from one day to another would be really suspicious and raise attention to himself. It's no wonder that Dumbledore figured it out pretty quickly.
> 
> I also hope you enjoyed the Slytherin dynamic, it's going to be fun to explore in the future and will make for some interesting moments and relationships between the characters.
> 
> Thank you for reading, following, favouriting, and reviewing!


	4. Conversations And Confrontations

_**PREVIOUSLY ON… HARRY POTTER AND THE HIDDEN THREAT** _

_His mother always went to wake up his brother, his father always went to wake up his sister, and Seepy always was the one to wake him up. It was the same routine every day, and he was, really, fine with it. He was old enough and didn't need his mummy or daddy by his bedside every morning, was he not?_

**...**

_Noah snorted. "As if you're not jealous that I'm The Boy Who Lived and not you."_

_Harry actually laughed out loud at that. "Jealous? Trust me, Noah. The last thing I care about is your obsessed groupies. I'm fine with who I am."_

" _Sure you are, is that why you don't have any friends?" Noah mocked cuttingly._

**...**

" _Now, I'm going to give you something, Noah, but you can't tell your mother." He reached into his pockets once again and pulled out a fluid-like silky, silvery cloak._

_Noah's eyes grew wide. "Is that...?"_

" _Yes," His father said proudly. "The Cloak of Invisibility."_

_Noah stared at the cloak in wonder while Harry glared at his father._

_**...** _

" _In private, you're allowed to hate each other, act however you want or do whatever you please, but the one thing you cannot do is to take in-house disagreements to the outside where everyone can see. Slytherin will stand together."_

**...**

" _So, mudblood," Parkinson stood in front of them while the other first-years watched. "How did you cheat your way into Slytherin?"_

_Hermione did not respond; she just continued reading her book as if nothing had happened._

" _I'm talking to you, mudblood!" Parkinson snapped again, but Hermione kept on reading. "Are you that dumb that you can't even understand!"_

" _Answer me, you filthy mudblood!" The girl shrieked, not that Hermione seemed to care._

**...**

" _You just insulted my house and two of my house-mates. Which makes this my problem."_

_Noah let out a huge guffaw. "Come on, Malfoy. You expect me to believe that you of all people are defending a muggle-born and a Potter!?"_

" _I don't have anything against the Potters. I remember offering you a hand of friendship, Stupid Potter, an offer which you denied, but your brother seemed sensible enough to accept it."_

" _You're friends with Malfoy!? He's a Death Eater! A pure-blood bigot!"_

_**...** _

" _You are a Slytherin, Potter, and you will learn that nothing here is freely given. Everything you are and everything you have you will earn through your own hard work and effort. You are not your father, but you have yet to prove yourself to be anything other than his son. If you want people to respect you for who you are, you are going to have to work for it."_

_Harry stared right back into Snape's black eyes._

" _Yes, sir."  
_

* * *

_**CHAPTER 4: CONVERSATIONS AND CONFRONTATIONS** _

_**September 10, 1991** _

The next week went by pretty quickly for Harry. After his confrontation with his brother before DADA, Noah had laid off of him to the point where he stopped looking at him altogether. Professor Snape had also stopped harassing him during classes. Granted, it was still pretty clear that he didn't like Harry as he continued being overly critical of him in class and had yet to give him a single point for any of the questions he answered correctly, which was surprising considering Snape's clear bias for Slytherin. On the other hand, he had stopped his unprompted removal of points from him and had actually graded him adequately, even if only a little harsh. He had also changed the grade for his boil-cure potion from an Acceptable to an Exceeds Expectations and thankfully given Hermione her Outstanding. All in all, Harry considered it a big win.

He and Hermione continued partnering in every class and studying together for what seemed like all of their free time. Before coming to Hogwarts, Harry thought that after all of his reading ahead and all the time he had spent studying, he would manage to make the top of the class without much effort. Only now did he realize how naive he had been. Hermione Granger was a force of nature - she could get through extremely advanced books faster than anyone he'd ever met. Her mind was unparalleled, and she quickly understood everything and anything that came her way. Harry couldn't help but admire the girl that had become his first true friend. It wasn't just Hermione though - pretty much every Slytherin seemed to be on the top of their game, studying at every available moment and being just as vigilant in their assignments as him or Hermione. It seemed like getting those study guides would be harder than he thought.

However, not everything was going as great as Harry would have wanted, mainly because of the other Slytherins. To an outsider, all the Slytherins were a cohesive team that got along better than any of the other three houses. They sat at the Great Hall together and usually went from class to class as a large group; they sometimes helped each other during class; and they always stood together when someone from a different house tried to pick a fight with any of them. Behind closed doors, however, things were completely different. Hermione was constantly harassed by a few students like Parkinson and other older students. When they did so, Harry always stood up for Hermione since they didn't seem to want to attack him. At first, Harry thought it was weird that they didn't target him just as much as Hermione, but then he remembered that the Potters were still considered a powerful and influential family that had been pure-bloods before his generation, and he was the clear heir apparent. The rest of the Slytherins seemed to think that it wasn't smart to target him, but Hermione didn't seem to be off-limits for them. Thankfully, after some of them noticed that he was defending her they backed off, but there were still people in the house that continued persecuting her. Hermione for her part didn't seem bothered by it. She acted as if they were not there, always holding her head high and ignoring them.

Harry just hoped that none of the Slytherins tried to escalate their harassment towards Hermione.

* * *

_**Transfiguration Classroom  
12:45 p.m.** _

"Time's up!" Professor McGonagall called out. At that moment she summoned all the exams to her desk. "Mister Crabbe and Mister Goyle, don't think I didn't see you using a remembrall during the exam. You'll get an automatic T and have detention with me for the next two weeks. You will also hand in your remembralls to me before you leave. If you try this stunt again, it'll be detention for two months and then suspension for the rest of the year. Do I make myself clear?"

Crabbe and Goyle groaned but nodded nonetheless.

"Now, before you leave, I have the results of last week's quiz. Miss Granger and Miss Greengrass, fifteen points each for tying with a perfect score of 107. Well done you two." McGonagall handed the two girls their respective exams. "In second place, Mister Potter with a score of 105, ten points to Slytherin." Harry stood up, grabbed his quiz, and groaned when he saw what question he got wrong. "And finally, Mister Malfoy and Mister Corner, five points each for tying in third place with 103." After that, she handed the exams to everyone else before she went to the front of the classroom. "I'm very pleased with this class. You had an average of 91, which is much better than the 76 from the other class. I expect all of you to keep this level of effort or improve it, I will not tolerate students that start to slack off." She finished with a stern look at all of them.

The bell rang and Professor McGonagall dismissed them.

"What did you get wrong?" Hermione asked as she reached his seat.

"One of the stupid multiple-choice questions," He said in annoyance. "I can't believe you got a perfect score, but I didn't."

"It didn't surprise me, to be honest." Harry looked up and glared at a smug Hermione.

"And what did you get wrong?" He asked Malfoy as he and the other Slytherins began gathering around them.

"McGonagall took points from me in the essay section," He said irritated.

Hermione looked around. When she noticed Professor McGonagall was gone, she leaned in and asked, "What is a remembrall?" Pansy rolled her eyes at her, but she wisely kept her mouth shut, as did Crabbe and Goyle.

"This," Zabini said proudly from behind Harry as he pulled out a small, trapezoidal cube made out of glass.

"What does it do?" Hermione asked.

"It allows you to store memories and view them with perfect recollection at any time you choose. I have a few of them, but this one is just for school things."

"May I?" Harry asked as he extended his arm. Blaise looked at him carefully for a second before shrugging and handing it to him.

As soon as he touched it, Harry instinctively knew what to do. He couldn't explain it, but for some reason, he just knew what memories he could access. He thought of Transfiguration notes and as soon as he did, everything around him went black before he suddenly felt like he was seated. On the table in front of him was a stack of parchments filled with notes for transfiguration, and it wasn't long before he started rifling through them slowly, except it wasn't him. The hands that were moving the parchment were dark and slimmer - they were Zabini's hands. It was only then that he realized he wasn't the one moving the hands, they were moving on their own. He tried standing up or moving his head, but he couldn't. It seemed that he was just the passenger in Zabini's memory, unable to interact with the memory.

 _Cool,_ Harry thought as he viewed Zabini's notes before he suddenly got an idea. _Stop!_ He mentally shouted and sure enough, the memory paused right in front of him. _Interesting…_ He looked at the notes for a moment. _Continue._ The memory started playing once again. _Very interesting._ Harry didn't quite like how it felt not being in control of his body as the memory played before his eyes, but he had to admit that this was an extremely useful tool. _Exit._ As soon as he said that, everything went black again before he "returned" to what he knew was the present day.

"It's cool. Weird, but cool." Harry told Zabini as he handed him the remembrall.

"Yeah," He laughed. "It takes a while to get used to it."

"May I?" Hermione asked and Zabini complied after a second of hesitation.

He turned to look at Hermione as soon as she grabbed the remembrall and a couple of moments later, her eyes glazed lightly, and she stood there silently without moving a muscle. He noticed that red smoke appeared inside the remembrall.

"And you used it on today's exam?" Greengrass questioned and Zabini just smirked at her.

Less than a minute later, Hermione's eyes unglazed, the red smoke disappeared, and she faltered in her feet before catching herself. She raised her eyebrows slightly as she looked at the remembrall before she handed it to Zabini.

"Where can you buy them?" Harry asked Zabini, ignoring Hermione's incredulous expression at the thought of him using one to cheat.

"There are a couple of shops in Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade that sell them. I bought mine in Dervish and Banges."

"Come on," Hermione said before Harry could say anything else. She grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the door. "We need to go to lunch before our flying class." They left the room as the other Slytherins gathered their stuff and followed behind them.

"Are you still scared about flying?" He teased her and received a glower in return.

"I'm not scared," She said tightly, lifting her chin. "I just wouldn't mind if we didn't have that class."

He laughed. "Come on, Hermione. It won't be that bad."

"It's easy for you to say that. You come from a wizarding home, I'm pretty sure flying is second nature to you."

"It wasn't always. Growing up, I hated flying. I used to force myself to fly because my father always insisted that I learn. It always felt like a big waste of time for me to do that, and it didn't help that Noah and Ron flew pretty much every possible minute, and you know how annoying they are." He noticed Hermione nodded absentmindedly. "A couple of years ago, I stopped forcing myself to fly and only did it when I felt like it. I ended up finding that flying can be a good escape from everything. It was the one place I felt at peace and where I had all the control in my life."

"I feel the opposite," Hermione whispered, surprising Harry with how quiet she sounded. He had never heard her use an unsure or shy voice - she always seemed extremely confident and unwavering. For the first time since he met her, she sounded vulnerable. "On the ground, I have all the control. I am the one who controls where I move and when I do it. In the air, I would have to depend on my broom. If it starts failing, or it doesn't do what I want it to do, then I can fall or crash. I don't feel like I have full control and I don't know what's going to happen at any given moment."

Taking advantage of the fact that the other Slytherins were still pretty far behind them, Harry gently grabbed Hermione's arm and stopped.

"You control the broom, Hermione," He said softly as he moved his hand from her arm down to her hand. "You'll learn, I promise. Learning to fly is like learning a new spell, it just takes practice. It's very uncommon for a broom to start failing and if it does, I'll be right there to catch you." He gave her a reassuring smile which she reciprocated.

"Thanks, Harry."

"Beautiful, really." Greengrass drawled from behind him. "You two are just the cutest. But if you don't mind, I'm hungry. So I'd appreciate it if we could keep moving."

Harry glared at the girl while Hermione rolled her eyes before she started walking, pulling him with their hands that were still intertwined. After a few steps, it seemed that both he and Hermione noticed their connection at the same moment. They immediately dropped their hands at the same moment and looked away from each other, blushing.

The group continued walking towards the Great Hall for a couple of minutes, everyone still talking about the Transfiguration quiz except for Harry and Hermione, who were silent. Then Harry stopped abruptly, halting the others in the process.

Right in front of him, James Potter stopped walking when he saw him and all the other Slytherins turned the corner. His face turned into a hard expression as he stared at everyone else before his eyes settled on Harry with an impassive face.

"Ooooh, someone's in trouble," Malfoy whispered behind Harry, but he ignored it.

"Why don't you all go ahead, I'll catch up to you soon," He said without taking his eyes off of his father.

The others shrugged and started walking around him towards the Great Hall. All except Hermione.

"Do you want me to stay?" She whispered.

Harry turned to look at her and he smiled. "I'll be fine, you go ahead. Just save me a seat, will you?"

Hermione looked at him appraisingly before nodding and walking ahead with the others, not even bothering to look at James Potter.

Father and son stood on the opposite ends of the empty corridor, staring at each other silently before Harry spoke up.

"Hello, Father," He said stiffly, not really knowing how to act with him.

"Harry, how are you? You haven't answered my calls." He said primly.

"Yeah, sorry about that, I've been busy with school." He lied effortlessly. In reality, he didn't answer since he didn't want to have to face his father yet, not knowing how he would react to him being a Slytherin.

"Well, it's good I found you. I want you to go to Dumbledore and request you get resorted immediately." It was clear by James' tone that it wasn't a request.

 _Oh, great. Just like Noah. Maybe Snape was right about some Potters sharing a brain._ Harry looked up at his father. "My schedule is a bit full at the moment Father, I'm going to have to do a rain check on that. But I don't think I'll be free to do that until after I graduate."

"Harry," James began calmly. "I am your father, and I know what is best for you. You may think you know better than me, but you don't. You don't know what I know. You're going to get out of Slytherin and sorted into any other house. That's an order."

"Actually, it's not. You see, I found something pretty interesting in the Hogwarts rules when I read them my first night here. Apparently, a student can only get resorted if he comes to the decision out of his own free will. No one, not even the student's guardians, can force him to do so. So no, I'm not getting resorted, thanks for the offer though." Harry winked at his father before he began walking again.

"I'm not playing games, Harry James Potter!" James snapped. Harry stopped dead in his tracks - this was the first time that his father had ever raised his voice like that to him. He had never seen him look so angry and serious at the same time. "You're going to get resorted, that's an order!"

Harry turned to his father with an impassive face. "Or what? There's nothing you can do to me. Nothing that I care about anyway. You see, I didn't just buy my school books when we went to Diagon Alley, I also thought it would be interesting to buy some books about wizarding law. As heir-apparent to House Potter, I get to inherit everything, and there's nothing you can do about it. The only way I can legally lose my inheritance is if I am sentenced for committing a violent crime, so your favouritism for Noah won't affect me on this. I guess there's a benefit of having the Wizengamot run by pure-bloods." He smirked at his father's shocked look. "I mean, if you really want to, you can kick me out of the house, but I doubt Mother would like that. In fact, I'd be pretty sure that the family would fall apart after a move like that. And what would the headlines say? ' _Harry Potter expelled from House Potter because war hero James Potter is bigoted against Slytherins.'_ It wouldn't look good, I must say. Especially when a lot of the people who run the ministry are Slytherins." Harry had thought James would look furious, but instead, he looked hurt. Harry felt a little bit guilty, but he knew he needed to make it clear that he wasn't going to back down and change from Slytherin just because of his father's irrational hatred for the house. "Oh, and don't think I'm forgetting about the trust fund that should have started on my eleventh birthday."

Harry continued walking towards the Great Hall, passing his father without even saying goodbye.

"Do you really think I would do that?" James asked in a mournful voice, stopping Harry just as he was about to turn the corner. He turned around and saw that James hadn't moved "Do you really think I would take away your inheritance or even kick you out of the house?" He finally turned and looked at Harry with a sorrowful expression.

"How could I not?" Harry hated the fact that he couldn't keep the resentment out of his voice. "You have favoured Noah and put him above me all my life. You always left me alone and focused on him or on Jas. You always gave him everything he wanted - bloody hell! You gave him my cloak of invisibility! That was _**my**_ birthright, and you gave it to Noah! How do you expect me to think that you wouldn't do that with my inheritance, or with my position in the Wizengamot! Do you really expect me to think that you wouldn't choose Noah over me!?

"Harry," He began and Harry was surprised at how genuinely dismal he sounded. "I don't favour Noah. I love both of you the same. But Noah needs me and your mother more than you. You were always independent and were fine on your own. You've grown into a smart young man, and I am proud of the person you are." Harry watched his father look down and shake his head. "Noah was never as independent as you, Harry, and he needs help so that he can grow into the best version of himself. I gave him the cloak because there are things you don't know, things your mother and I haven't told you or your siblings to protect you. Noah needs us more, and we had to prioritize him, but it wasn't because we didn't love you."

James paused for a moment, and his expression turned pleadingly. "I know how Slytherin works, Harry. More than you will ever understand. No matter who you are before Hogwarts, what you believe in, or if you're a bigot or not... if you stay in Slytherin long enough, you'll be forced to become just like them. I have watched as people I considered to be good Slytherins turn into Death Eaters. And even if Slytherin wasn't like that, how will I ever know you're truly safe in a house that is filled with children from families that hate us? I'm just trying to protect you, Harry."

Harry stared at his father emotionlessly.

"I didn't just decide to be independent, Father. I am that way because I had to be that way. You and Mum were always with Noah, and I was alone-"

"Harry, you were never alone-"

" _ **YES, I WAS!"**_ Harry bellowed at his father as he tried to contain the tears that were forming before he laughed bitterly. "There was a time when your approval would have meant everything to me. Now, I can't bring myself to care. It's too little too late." He turned but stopped and looked over his shoulder. "I can handle myself, I don't need you or Mother to protect me from anyone. And if you really think so little of me that you're sure I will turn into a Death Eater just because I'm a Slytherin, then you never even knew me at all."

And with that, he walked away, leaving his father dejectedly staring at the ground. But instead of going to the Great Hall, he stopped in the nearest bathroom and locked the door. He began pacing in front of the mirror as his mind went wild before he stopped and stared at his reflection.

He looked terrible, his eyes were bloodshot and his lip was quivering. His body was trying to force him to cry, but Harry kept preventing the tears from coming out.

It was stupid - he was better than this. James Potter shouldn't have affected him, what he said shouldn't have affected him. He had grown up all his life alone, and he didn't need him, he didn't need anyone. He wasn't the small kid that craved for his parent's' love like he used to be. He had come to terms with his life a long time ago, and he never cried about it. He was fine with his parents loving Noah and Jasmine and just providing for him. He didn't need his siblings; he didn't need his mummy; he didn't need his daddy.

And yet, his reflection looked like a scared little kid, like a scared little kid that didn't know what to do with his life. He looked so weak and so stupid. The person he was staring at wasn't who he was. Harry Potter wasn't like this. He wouldn't be like this. Why would he cry? Why would he be distraught?

He was used to it by now.

_Lies_

He was fine with his life.

_Lies_

He didn't need anyone.

_Lies_

He didn't want anyone.

_Lies_

He was fine.

_Lies_

He'd been alone all his life and he was fine with it.

_Lies_

He stared at his reflection, and it stared back at him. It was mocking him, showing him how weak and stupid he really was. How useless and powerless he really was. Harry stared at it for a moment before he let out a primal scream as he slumped down onto his knees...

And cried.

* * *

_**Headmaster's Office  
1:30 p.m.** _

James Potter walked into Dumbledore's office and slumped down on the seat in front of the Headmaster. He turned to look at the beautiful phoenix in front of him, and he immediately felt a little better just by being in its presence. He couldn't stop himself as he smiled and stroked the bird gently.

A couple of months ago, his boss Rufus Scrimgeour had told him that after Moody announced his retirement from his position at the Aurors for this December, he would need someone else to take Moody's place as his second in command. Scrimgeour offered him the job on the spot. James had immediately accepted.

James had been surprised he was authorized for Occlumency. The mind art had been heavily restricted by the Ministry, with all the books on the subject banned and removed from stores and libraries. Not that it mattered, since you could only learn Occlumency from someone who had mastered the art, and there were only three people in Britain who were known for doing so. The Ministry had forbidden them from teaching it to anyone without authorization, which usually only included the heads of each department, winners of the Order of Merlin First Class, and some specific members of the Wizengamot. Thankfully, Albus Dumbledore was one of the few Occlumency masters in the country, and he'd agreed to be his mentor. So ever since James had accepted the post, he'd been coming to Hogwarts to meet with Dumbledore three times a week so that the Headmaster could teach him.

He had been on his way to his meeting with Dumbledore when he bumped into a group of snakes. A group Harry, his own son, was part of. Noah had of course told him about Harry's house placement, but hearing and seeing were two different things. Seeing Harry with a bunch of snakes, hanging around with the children of Death Eaters like Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Nott angered him to his core. He had thought he could force Harry to change, but he had been dead wrong.

That's what was bothering James.

He had always thought he had a good relationship with his eldest son. Noah had always been dependent on him and Lily and even without the prophecy and the threat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, it was clear that he needed more attention from them than Harry. Noah needed his parents so that they could help him grow up. But Harry was different: he was an extremely smart and independent son that James was sure would go on to do great things. He had always been proud of him and given him enough space so that he could develop on his own and become the great man James knew he could be. It was clear to James that Harry didn't need him or Lily to grow up; and that was his job, wasn't it? To make sure that his children grew up into the best version of themselves? To ensure they had a good life after he and Lily were gone? He had done what he thought was right with Harry; he was independent and didn't need constant supervision from his parents. That would be more harmful than anything else. So, James was always there, around Harry's orbit but never in his personal space. He made sure Harry had everything he needed and even encouraged him to learn more things he was initially hesitant about.

Apart from a couple of arguments, he had never felt his relationship with his eldest son was estranged or anything out of the ordinary. But apparently, Harry didn't agree with him. He didn't trust James enough, and Harry thought that he would go as far as to take away his inheritance or throw him out of the house if he chose. Yes, he was mad at Harry and wanted to force him to change out of Slytherin, but he would never do anything to harm him! A part of James thought that it shouldn't matter if his children liked him or loved him; his job was to turn them into adults and give them all the tools necessary to be productive. But another part of him couldn't help but feel miserable at the thought that he had ruined his relationship with his son. The way Harry had looked at him and didn't show any emotion after James had said that he loved him and was proud of him hurt James worse than any cruciatus curse. He loved his wife and children with all of his heart, but…

Right now, it was clear for James to see that he was disconnected from Harry. And that was without mentioning Harry was now a Slytherin. If they were alienated now, by the time Harry graduated from Hogwarts, they would basically be strangers.

He had seen how Slytherin House changed its students, turning them into completely different people. It seemed that his son was also destined for that fate.

"Fawkes usually has that calming effect on people," Dumbledore noted as he stared at him curiously, breaking him out of his musings. "Is everything okay, James?"

He sighed. "It's just Harry. I guess I just didn't realize how distanced the two of us are."

"Why don't you try talking to him? I'm sure young Harry would listen."

James snorted bitterly. "I just tried talking to him. It didn't go so well."

"Did you try talking to him? Or did you order him around without taking his thoughts into consideration?" Dumbledore had a knowing look causing James to glance away in shame.

"I'm his father, Albus," He replied meekly. "I know what is best for him, and he should listen to me. I'm just trying to make sure he doesn't go down the wrong path."

"Harry is your son, James. He's the same person he was before he was sorted into Slytherin. You shouldn't let your irrational hatred for the house cloud your judgement. I will admit, I was a bit surprised about his house placement, but that doesn't make him evil." Dumbledore paused for a moment. "I thought you grew out of your prejudice for Slytherin."

James looked up and glared at him. "You know I did, and look how that worked out. After my sixth year, I was done with pranks, and I was done being childish. I tried being an adult and making up for how I acted. I tried to put away my bias with Slytherins and even became friends with _him_. And you know what happened? He betrayed me - both of them betrayed me! They turned into Death Eaters, and when the war was over, a lot of people we _knew_ for a fact were Death Eaters got away because of the Imperius excuse. I did the right thing! I changed and became a better person and in the end, it didn't matter. You-Know-Who is still out there and some of his closest Death Eaters are out on the streets after everything they did!"

"I know, James. And believe me when I tell you that I'm not happy about how things turned out. You know I'm doing my best to try changing things through the proper channels and making things better for muggle-borns and every other minority. But the Death Eaters weren't Death Eaters because they were Slytherins; they were Death Eaters because they chose to be bigots and spread hate. You know better than I do that there were Gryffindors who ended up being supporters of Voldemort, and the same goes for Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. When all is said and done, it isn't our abilities that make us who we are. It is our choices."

"Albus, we both know how that House changes people!" James cried out in exasperation. He rose to his feet and began pacing around the room unconsciously. "We've both seen it. Regulus was not an exception, he was the norm. Everyone that goes there ends up changing, and not for the better. You're right, not all the Death Eaters were in Slytherin, but a large number was. That isn't a coincidence, that's a pattern. You'll see, all the Slytherins who didn't turn last time will do it in a second if You-Know-Who ever returns. And what if he returns when Harry is still at Hogwarts? How will I know my son will be safe when he'll be stuck in a house filled with junior Death Eaters? Harry will either be harassed relentlessly or he'll be forced to join them himself! I won't lose my son!" He shouted at the Headmaster and only then did he realize that he was standing. He slumped back to his seat dejectedly and put his hands over his face. "I can't lose him, Albus."

Dumbledore sighed. "And do you think that antagonizing young Harry was the right move?" James sighed and dropped his head. "James, I don't agree with your assessment of Slytherin and from what I've heard, Harry has been nothing less than a stellar student that looks to be top of the year. All the teachers have nothing but good things to say about him. He won't be turning evil anytime soon, I can assure you. If Voldemort does return when Harry is at Hogwarts, then I promise I will protect him. However, I will not force him to change houses. Whether I agree or not with your opinion of the house, if you want to fix things between you and Harry, you're just going to have to accept that he's a Slytherin. From what I've heard and from what I've seen from Harry, I'm pretty sure he won't change his mind about this."

James gritted his teeth in frustration. Albus didn't understand. James had seen how people in Slytherin gradually devolved into evil just as bad as all the others. He had had friends from Slytherin deceive him, and even those who came from Slytherin families but were sorted elsewhere had betrayed him. He knew that if he left his son in Slytherin, Harry would be forced to become just like Malfoy or Black.

"What if I can't?" He said, barely above a whisper.

Dumbledore said nothing, he just stared at him pensively.

* * *

_**Slytherin Table, Great Hall  
2:00 p.m.** _

"What is that?" Hermione asked out loud. All the Slytherins turned towards the Gryffindor table to see Longbottom pull out a large orb from the package he had just received.

"Wow!" Nott spoke up, surprising everyone as he usually didn't say anything. "That's a remembrall!"

"A really, really old remembrall," Malfoy noted. "Like, probably over three centuries old."

"Remembralls have changed a lot through the years," Greengrass started explaining to Hermione as everyone watched Longbottom and the Gryffindors. "They started out like that. They were large orbs that generated red smoke when it sensed that you forgot something. The thing is that people didn't really buy them since most wizards considered it useless - they couldn't tell you what you'd forgotten, only that you had. So they tried rebranding it with different inventions until about a century ago when it finally reached the version we have today."

"Crabbe, Goyle! With me!" Malfoy snapped before he stood up and made his way to the Gryffindor table with the other two flanking him.

"Should we go with him?" Zabini asked the group.

"I honestly doubt the castle expects all of us to follow Malfoy whenever he decides to do something stupid like this. If he gets in any big trouble, we'll go and back him up, but I think we're fine here for now," Hermione said matter-of-factly.

"Besides, he has Crabbe and Goyle with him. He'll be fine." Tracey noted.

"Should we stop him though?" Nott asked.

"Professor Snape said that the castle expects us to support other Slytherins if anything happens. It never said that we should stop others when they're about to do something stupid. If Malfoy wants to get himself into trouble, I say we let him." Greengrass stated.

"Shut up, all of you, I'm watching the show," Tracey said and Hermione turned to look at the scene in front of her.

Malfoy got to the Gryffindor table and snatched the remembrall from Longbottom. As soon as he did, Noah and Ron stood up, looking ready to start a fight with him. However, before anything else could happen, Professor McGonagall swooped in, staring at each of the three boys sternly. Without a word, Malfoy immediately handed the remembrall back to Neville before returning to the Slytherin table, a scowl on his face.

"How did your little excursion go, Malfoy? Had fun?" Zabini asked amusedly.

"Shut up, Zabini! I just wanted to look at it. It's not every day that you see a centuries-old heirloom."

"What's going on?" A voice came from behind Hermione, and she immediately turned around. It was Harry. She could tell right away something was amiss. Oh, he had a perfect mask and looked completely normal. But Hermione noticed something different in his eyes.

"Malfoy tried to steal Longbottom's ancient remembrall, so nothing new," Zabini smirked, earning a glower from Malfoy as Harry.

"I'm going back to the common room," Greengrass said, standing up. "I want to finish the History essay before our flying class."

"I'll go with you," Harry said as Zabini, Crabbe, Goyle, and Malfoy stood up.

Hermione noticed that Harry hadn't even sat down to eat, but she didn't say anything to draw attention to her observation. Instead, she stood up too.

"We'll meet you in the common room before we all leave for our class," Harry said to the ones who were staying, and they nodded in agreement.

* * *

_**Slytherin Common Room** _

_**Ten Minutes Later** _

Harry and the others entered the common room, where a couple of older students sneered at Hermione as they passed through the entrance. Parkinson copied the look before going directly towards the girl's dormitory.

"Lovely," Harry said as the rest went about their business, leaving him and Hermione alone.

"Are you okay?" Hermione whispered, a touch of worry in her voice.

"I'm fine," Harry waved her off.

She studied him carefully for a couple of moments before asking. "Meet you back here in ten minutes?"

"Sure." He watched her leave and walk towards the girl's staircase… only to be intercepted by two older boys a few moments later.

"Oh, this can't be good," Harry muttered to himself as he immediately rushed towards her.

"Did you really think we would let a filthy mudblood like you in here?" Harry heard one of the boys saying while palming his wand through his robes.

"You know, this is getting annoying." Hermione basically growled at them. "All I hear is mudblood this and mudblood that. Filthy mudblood. Stupid mudblood. Honestly! Can't you think of any new way of bullying me!? Are you that dumb that you just repeat the same thing over and over again hoping to get a reaction out of me!? It's more irritating than anything. Yes, I'm a mudblood. I'm a _**proud**_ mudblood. My blood is filthy with muggle genes! I wear that as a badge of honour, so you calling me that is doing nothing except wasting my time!"

One of the boys sneered at her. "Hey, Mulciber. Why don't we show this uppity mudblood how to speak to your bett-"

"Hello!" Harry interrupted cheerfully as he pushed past the crowd that had gathered and joined Hermione's side. "I'm Harry Potter, and you?"

"Shove off, Potter. This has nothing to do with you!" The boy called Mulciber shouted.

"This has everything to do with me," He said, deadly calm. "You are insulting my friend, and I really don't like it. I'd appreciate it if you stopped harassing her."

"Potter, you're a half-blood and clearly the smartest of your family. I would recommend you step aside," The first boy said softly yet with a harsh tone.

"I'll take your suggestion into consideration," Harry said as he placed himself between Hermione and the two larger boys. He could feel her glare on the back of his head.

"Pity," The other boy said as he pulled out his wand. "We thought there was hope for you."

"That was not a smart move," Harry said as he stalled for time, thinking of a plan to get out of this situation. It seemed to work as the boy stopped in his tracks, confused. "You see," Harry said as he began pacing in front of them. "I come from a wizarding family, a family that used to be pure-blooded, and yet my mother was a muggle-born. Now, you may see that as a bad thing... I personally choose to see it as a good thing." By now, everyone around him was looking at him as if he were crazy. "You see, I got to go a lot to the cinema and I watched a lot of films. You don't know what films are, and probably won't understand if I tried to explain it, but that's not the point. The point is that you can learn a lot by watching films. One thing I learned is that sometimes, the best way to deal with a problem is by talking." He stopped right in front of the older boy and looked directly at his eyes. _Ah, screw it!_ Harry thought before scratching his nose. "Unfortunately, this doesn't seem like the time for that."

Harry moved quickly, quicker than he had ever moved in his life as he thrust his hand towards the boy's face, poking his eyes faster than he could react. The boy cried out in pain and staggered backwards. Harry rapidly reached for his wand and cast the only offensive spell he knew and was confident enough in using.

"Flipendo!" He shouted and thankfully, he cast the spell correctly as it hit the boy and knocked him back where he crashed into a table and fell to the ground.

"What did you do!?" Hermione hissed incredulously behind him as everyone stared in surprise at the older boy.

"Don't worry, it's all part of my plan," He whispered to her without taking his eyes off of the boy who was groaning on the ground in pain.

"Well, do tell what is the next step of your master plan!"

"Err… I'm still working on that bit."

Mulciber seemed to have recovered from his shock as he glowered at Harry. "You're a dead man!" He shouted as he grabbed his wand.

"Ah, but you see, that's where you're wro-"

"Your bullshit won't work on me, Potter!" He growled.

"Can't blame a guy for trying, can you?" Harry again raised his wand quicker than the other Slytherin. "Flipendo!"

"Protego!" Mulciber cast the magical shield and Harry's spell rebounded back at him. Unfortunately, since they were not more than three meters apart, Harry wasn't fast enough to avoid it and was knocked to the ground. Thankfully, the boy seemed to ignore Hermione for the moment as he focused on him.

"You're gonna pay for that, Potter!" Harry gulped as Mulciber raised his wand, ready to cast a curse.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry heard someone exclaim and right before his eyes, Mulciber's wand flew out of his hand. Harry followed the wand's path and saw Marcus Flint catch it effortlessly. "Alright, that's enough Mulciber, Rosier. Leave them alone." Mulciber didn't move and Flint pointed his wand at him. "Now." He threatened in a whisper.

Mulciber sneered at the prefect. "You're going to regret this, blood traitor."

"I'm sure I will," He drawled sarcastically.

"Are you okay?" Hermione tried to ask in a neutral tone that was betrayed by the concern in her eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He said nonchalantly as Hermione helped him up. He leaned in. "You see, all part of my plan." He winked at her.

Ignoring the fact that they were in the open, Hermione hit him, continuously. "Stupid! Bloody! Prat! I could have handled it! I don't need you to go all Gryffindor on me!"

"Ow! Calm down!" He whispered as he tried catching her arm. "Look, I'm not going to let them treat you like that, you're my friend. So I'm going to continue doing that, whether you like it or not," He finished sternly.

Hermione looked at him incensed. "Ugh!" She groaned after a couple of seconds before she turned around and headed to the girl's staircase muttering about 'idiots with a saving people complex' to which Harry smiled in amusement. He turned back to the crowd who was still watching him appraisingly, and he saw Flint give Mulciber his wand and ordered him to take Rosier to the infirmary.

Harry turned his attention from the prefect as he started to look at the crowd and saw Malfoy standing there, staring at him. He had expected Malfoy to go back to harassing Hermione by now - he had been ready for any confrontation that would surface because of it. But it hadn't happened yet. This had been a pretty perfect moment for him to join in, but he didn't. He had just stood by and watched as the whole confrontation happened. That lack of action bothered Harry. He knew Malfoy and even though he hoped that the blond would stop being so bigoted as time went on, he knew he wouldn't just change in a second. If anything, Malfoy's silence worried Harry more than if he had joined Mulciber and Rosier in tormenting Hermione.

Harry stared back at him as he tried getting any emotion from the boy's expression, but he couldn't.

"Potter!" Flint shouted authoritatively, catching Harry's attention. "Come with me!"

"Where?" He asked suspiciously.

"You're coming to my room." He leaned in and spoke quietly. "We need to talk."

Harry examined the older boy. He didn't really want to go with Flint to his private room, alone. Every one of his instincts was screaming at him not to do it. Flint may have helped him by stopping Mulciber from attacking him, but that didn't mean Harry trusted him. He was one of the people who sneered at Hermione and called her a mudblood during the first days, but he had stopped after Harry defended her. At the same time, he was really curious as to what the prefect wanted with him.

Despite his better judgement, he nodded and followed the Slytherin up the staircase.

* * *

_**Two Minutes And Eight Floors Later…** _

"How do you do this every time you want to get to your room?" Harry panted as they finally reached the prefect floor.

"You get used to it," Flint responded without even looking at him.

The boy walked to the first door, touched the doorknob and proceeded to do a complex wand movement. When he finished it, the doorknob shined gold for a moment before returning to normal. After that, Flint opened the door and let Harry in.

He entered the room and was surprised at how large it was: it was probably just as big as his room in Potter Manor. It was like a small common room with a study on the left side of the room and a couple of couches and an armchair surrounding a chair on the right side. The bed was in the middle against the wall. All around the room, there were portraits and pictures of Flint and what Harry assumed where his friends and family. If anything, seeing this room only made Harry's thirst for becoming a prefect greater.

"What was that?" He asked the older boy.

"A complex locking spell," He answered evasively as he sat on the armchair. "Sit down, Potter."

Harry ignored the awkwardness he felt and sat on one of the couches facing the armchair. He decided that he would let the boy start the conversation. It was Flint who asked him here, after all.

"I've been watching you closely, Potter," He said after about half a minute of silence.

"I'm going to ignore how creepy that sounded," Harry remarked, but Flint ignored him.

"Not a lot of people in Slytherin would do what you're doing. Standing by a mudblood-"

"Don't use that word with me," Harry snapped coolly.

Flint just raised an eyebrow at him. "Standing by a muggle-born, I mean. Anyone here would have thrown her to the wolves, but you stood by her. Why?"

"She's my friend."

"You've only known each other for a week," Flint noted.

"Well, then I guess I just don't like bigots." He shrugged, not even bothering to deny Flint's assumption.

"So you stand by the muggle-born but still have cordial relationships with the likes of Malfoy. How does that work?"

 _What are you trying to figure out, Flint?_ He thought to himself before speaking out loud. "Malfoy has yet to call Hermione the M-word ever since I warned him not to do so."

"Oh, I've noticed. But it's pretty clear to see that he's just as prejudiced as always. He may not say it, but he sure thinks it. I'm sure you have noticed it as well, you seem smart enough to pick up on these sorts of things."

"As long as Malfoy doesn't harass Hermione, then I don't have a problem with him," Harry said evasively.

The room was in complete silence as the older boy stared at Harry for what seemed like an eternity but was probably two minutes.

Flint finally broke the silence as he leaned in, a disturbing calmness in his voice. "I'll make you a deal, Potter. Right now, it's clear that things with Mulciber, Rosier, and the others will continue to escalate. So, I'll help you out. I'll make sure you and Granger are safe and make sure my friends also look out for you two. I'll even teach you some spells to protect yourselves and ward your beds and trunks."

"And what do you want in return?" He narrowed his eyes at him.

"A favour," Flint grinned at him. "One favour that I can cash in anytime, any place. Obviously, it won't be an insensible favour like asking you to give me all your fortune or making you swear your unwavering allegiance to me or anything absurd like that. Just one small favour that you will be forced to grant under an unbreakable vow."

Harry stared at him with the emotionless mask he had perfected over the years. He didn't like this - he didn't like this one bit. He didn't know Flint, but he knew his family was as dark as they come; they were Voldemort supporters after all. But at the same time, Harry knew that things would escalate soon and he or Hermione would get hurt badly if they were not careful. All of Slytherin had been either neutral or antagonistic towards Hermione, and, as much as he hated to admit it, his father had been right. They were surrounded by at least two dozen students whose family had been Death Eaters during the last war and presumably hated muggle-borns and blood traitors. They needed an ally. Especially when he considered that he was just a first-year who had little to no experience with offensive and defensive magic. If push came to shove, he couldn't protect her.

Harry knew that this favour could come back and bite him in the arse later, but right now… he didn't really have a choice.

"Why?" He asked, trying to prolong the time he had to think.

"Why what?" Flint asked. Harry could instinctively tell Flint knew he was just stalling.

"Why are you staking all your reputation and your image for a favour from me? You know what a faction of Slytherins will say, and you'll probably be shunned by more than a few of them. They won't like that you're helping me out."

"You're the heir apparent to House Potter and there will come a time when you will have a lot of money and influence and power. Why does it surprise you that I would invest in you?" The older boy shrugged. "Besides, you're different, I can tell. You don't let family or house bias cloud your judgement when you are dealing with people. You focus on who they are and what they're worth rather than what reputation they have. Something tells me that one day, you'll be connected with a lot of people and make for a strong ally."

Harry stared at him for a moment before he spoke.

"There will have to be some exceptions to make sure that the favour isn't too absurd or that it doesn't put me at large risk, of course. We'll have to make a list of conditions and include it all in the unbreakable vow. I won't make the vow before we go over everything and we both agree to every condition."

"How much time do you have?" Flint asked as he stood up.

"I have a class in about an hour."

"That's plenty of time," The boy went to his nightstand and pulled out a parchment, a quill, and ink. "Let's get this over quickly so that I can call Higgs, and he can make the unbreakable vow before you leave." Harry looked at him carefully but nodded and accepted the parchment and quill. "Don't worry, Potter. You won't regret this," Flint reassured him with a broad grin.

Harry didn't feel reassured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks Proton6 and MasterChaos1 for alpha reading and WH Rutledge for beta reading!
> 
> This chapter was supposed to be the whole Midnight Duel chapter, but it ended up being longer than I anticipated. So instead of giving you a 14k chapter, I decided to split it into two regular chapters.
> 
> Next time we'll get to see the aftermath of Harry making the unbreakable vow, the flying class, and the midnight duel!


	5. Bridges Built, Bridges Burned

_**PREVIOUSLY ON… HARRY POTTER AND THE HIDDEN THREAT** _

_Noah snorted. "As if you're not jealous that I'm The Boy Who Lived and not you."_

_Harry actually laughed out loud at that. "Jealous? Trust me, Noah. The last thing I care about is your obsessed groupies. I'm fine with who I am."_

" _Sure you are, is that why you don't have any friends?" Noah mocked cuttingly._

_**...** _

" _Now, I'm going to give you something, Noah, but you can't tell your mother." He reached into his pockets once again and pulled out a fluid-like silky, silvery cloak._

_Noah's eyes grew wide. "Is that...?"_

" _Yes," His father said proudly. "The Cloak of Invisibility."_

_Noah stared at the cloak in wonder while Harry glared at his father._

_**...** _

" _Are you still scared about flying?" He teased her and received a glower in return._

" _I'm not scared," She said tightly, lifting her chin. "I just wouldn't mind if we didn't have that class."_

_He laughed. "Come on, Hermione. It won't be that bad."_

_**...** _

" _What is that?" Hermione asked and all the Slytherins turned towards the Gryffindor table only to see Longbottom pull out a large orb from the package he had just received._

" _Wow!" Nott spoke up, surprising everyone as he usually didn't say anything. "That's a remembrall!"_

" _A really really old remembrall," Malfoy noted. "Like, probably over three centuries old."_

_**...** _

" _Potter, you're a half-blood and clearly the smartest of your family. I would recommend you step aside." The first boy whispered harshly._

" _I'll take your suggestion into consideration," Harry said as he placed himself between Hermione and the two large boys. He could feel her glare on the back of his head._

" _Pity," The other boy said as he pulled out his wand. "We thought there was hope for you."_

_**...** _

" _Expelliarmus!" Harry heard someone exclaim and right before his eyes, Mulciber's wand flew out of his hand. Harry followed the wand's path and saw Marcus Flint catch it effortlessly. "Alright, that's enough Mulciber, Rosier. Leave them alone." Mulciber didn't move and Flint pointed his wand at him. "Now." He threatened in a whisper._

_**...** _

" _I'll make you a deal, Potter." He finally broke the silence as he leaned in. "Right now, it's clear that things with Mulciber, Rosier, and the other bigots will continue to escalate. So I'll help you out. I'll make sure you and Granger are safe and make sure my friends also look out for you two, I'll even teach you some spells to protect yourselves and ward your beds and trunks."_

" _And what do you want in return?" He narrowed his eyes at him._

" _A favour," Flint grinned at him. "Just one small favour that you will be forced to grant under an unbreakable vow."_

_**...** _

" _Don't worry, Potter. You won't regret this." Flint reassured him with a broad grin._

_Harry didn't feel reassured.  
_

* * *

_**CHAPTER 5: BRIDGES BUILT, BRIDGES BURNED** _

_**Slytherin Common Room** _

_**3:05 p.m.** _

Harry was walking down the stairs behind Flint and Higgs just minutes after making the unbreakable vow. It took them almost the whole hour so that both agreed to the terms. For his part, Harry felt he had been extremely thorough and removed any loopholes or absurd requests Flint could ask of him. However, that didn't stop the constant feeling of dread he felt at the thought of missing something.

The pain wasn't helping either.

As soon as they grabbed each other's arms and Higgs started making the vow, he felt his arm start burning, and it only got worse as they continued the vow. By the end, it felt like the veins in his right arm were on fire and there were white, noticeable scars all over his forearm and hand. He hissed in pain and grabbed his arm with his left hand as the burning feeling suddenly got worse.

"Don't worry," Flint reassured him smoothly. "The pain will only be this strong for the first couple of hours. You'll still feel it slightly for the first two weeks, but after that it will be completely gone. The scars will disappear in time, too. Just make sure a teacher doesn't see them. Making an unbreakable vow in Hogwarts isn't viewed well by the teachers, and people have been expelled because of it."

"You sound like you've done this before," Harry noted, attempting to sound as nonchalant as possible.

Flint looked at him and grinned. "A couple of times."

"Have you called in a favour yet?"

"Maybe," He replied silkily as they finished descending the stairs and entered the common room. "We'll meet in the classroom closest to the common room just before curfew. Bring Granger with you so that we can talk a few things over."

Harry nodded and walked towards Hermione, who was studying alone in one of the desks in the silent area. He managed to get her attention and she quickly put her books and writing utensils into her book bag before striding angrily towards him. Before he could say anything, she grabbed his arm, dragged him out of the common room, and into the first classroom. She loudly closed the door behind her and turned towards him with a glare.

"What the bloody hell was that!?" She snapped at him, surprising Harry since he had never heard her swear before.

"Err… what?" He asked dumbly.

For the second time today, Hermione began hitting him. "Why! On! Earth! Did! You! Attack! Mulciber! And! Rosier!? Are you an idiot!? Do you think they'll leave you alone after that!? What will you do when they try to attack you in the middle of the night!?"

"Ow, Hermione! Stop!" Harry tried covering his chest with his right arm, but when she hit it, the pain from the unbreakable vow increased tenfold for a moment. Harry exclaimed in pain, as he walked away from her. As soon as he did, Hermione stopped and immediately adopted an apologetic expression.

"Oh, Harry. I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hit you that ha-" She stopped as she took a good look at his hand, causing Harry to quickly cover it with his sleeve. "What's that?"

"Nothing, Hermione. Just forget it, okay." He rubbed his arm with his other hand, but Hermione wasn't having it. She quickly grabbed his arm with a soft but surprisingly firm grip and uncovered his hand. As much as Harry wanted to remove the arm from her grip, he feared that it would cause another sharp pain. "What's this?" She gently traced the white scars with her hand.

"Birthmarks," He shrugged.

Hermione glared at him. "I've seen your hand before, Harry Potter. These aren't birthmarks. You didn't even have them this morning." She dropped his hand. "What did you do?"

"Nothing, just let this go, Hermione." She opened her mouth to make a rebuke, but he beat her to it. "And as for Mulciber and Rosier, I have it handled, so don't worry about them." He looked at his watch. "Now, it's getting late. If we don't leave now, we'll be late for our flying class."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "This isn't over, Potter."

Harry sighed. He wasn't looking forward to the upcoming interrogation.

* * *

_**Training Grounds** _

_**3:30 p.m.** _

"Well, what are you all waiting for?" Their teacher, Madam Hooch, said as she arrived. "Everyone, stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up!"

Harry noticed that all the students immediately followed the order. Most of the class seemed extremely excited about practising, while a small minority seemed hesitant, with Longbottom and Davis being the most obvious. Hermione, for her part, had managed to mask her worry pretty well as she moved to the broomstick beside him. On his other side, Malfoy stood confidently in a position that was oddly similar to the one his brother had, who happened to be standing right in front of Harry. Ron, who was standing beside Noah, looked more excited than anyone else, but Harry could detect an obvious lack of confidence in him. Harry, for his part, didn't bother showing the exaggerated self-assurance that the other two boys displayed; he just stood there with an impassive mask while holding himself high. The broomstick below him clearly wasn't as good as the one he had back at the Manor, but it was still decent enough for a beginner's class.

"Alright, stick out your right hand over your broom and say 'Up!'"

"Up!" Harry exclaimed, extremely thankful that he was left-handed as the broom crashed onto his hand.

Harry looked around him and saw that Malfoy and Noah already had their brooms in their hands too. The three of them were the only ones who had managed it at the first attempt as the others were still trying. Hermione had used a firm tone, but her broom had done nothing more than roll over the ground. This was still much better than Longbottom, whose broom hadn't even moved an inch.

"Up," Hermione repeated authoritatively to the broom, but Harry sensed a slight annoyance in her tone.

"Look," Harry said as he gently grabbed her arm to get her attention before he began explaining. "The broom senses what you want it to do. If a small part of you doesn't want it to go up, then it won't. You need to stop being hesitant and be one hundred percent sure of what you want it to do. Remember, you control the broom. Don't let it control you." He squeezed her arm before letting go.

Hermione stopped for a moment as she thought of what he had said before extending her hand once again. "Up!" The broom began rising towards her but stopped half-way before dropping to the ground.

"Wow! Well done, Harry! Such an amazing teacher," Noah said mockingly in front of him. Ron snorted as he tried getting his broom up again.

Hermione straightened her back but blushed in shame beside him, filling Harry with a burning anger in his chest. He turned to make sure that Madam Hooch was busy helping Neville before smiling at Ron.

"Aw, come on Ickle Ronniekins." Ron's ears turned red in response to the nickname. "Come on, you can do it!" He said patronizingly. Malfoy laughed. "Aren't you always saying how amazing you are at Quidditch? How you'll be captain one day? How you'll play professionally one day? Come on! If you're gonna do that, you're gonna have to be able to lift the broom from the ground!" By now, Goyle, Crabbe, and even Parkinson had started laughing while Noah, Ron, Parvati, and Finnegan glared at him.

"Shove off, Harry!" Noah growled.

"You started this, little brother," Harry said gleefully. "Besides, with how much experience Ron has, I would have expected him to be able to do this by now. It seems I was expecting too much from little Ronniekins."

"Shut up you filthy snake!" Ron shouted.

"I don't know what's sadder, that your only insult for the past week has been calling me a 'filthy snake,' or that Hermione will manage to get her broom in her hand before you."

"Granger?" Noah laughed and Hermione blushed harder but lifted her chin defiantly.

"Yes," Harry said calmly as he looked at Hermione. "In fact, Hermione will manage to do it right now." She turned to him with a neutral expression, but her eyes showed nervousness.

Noah, Ron, and even Finnegan laughed while Malfoy looked at him with obvious hesitancy. Harry paid them no mind as he stayed focused on her. "I believe in you," He whispered to her so that only she could hear it with all the laughter around them.

Hermione's fear slowly left her eyes as she adopted the look he constantly saw in her. The look she had when she was determined to solve a problem. The look that told Harry she was going to shut his brother up.

She stared at her broom for a moment before confidently lifting her arm over it.

"Up."

Immediately after she did, all the laughter from the Gryffindors stopped as the broom crashed against her hand. Noah and Ron stared at her with their jaws on the ground. The other Slytherins looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"Oops," She smirked at Noah and Ron. "Was that not supposed to happen?"

"It's clear that Ronniekins won't be cut out for the Quidditch team any time soon," Harry said, mirroring Hermione's expression, and the nearby Slytherins sniggered.

"Come on, Ron!" Noah urged. "You can do this! I believe in you!"

Ron nodded dumbly before turning to the broom.

"Up!" He exclaimed. The broom moved - just not how he wanted it to. Instead of rising horizontally, it stood vertically and, due to Ron's awkward position, it crashed directly against his nose, eliciting raucous laughter from the Slytherins.

"Wow! Well done, Noah! Such an amazing teacher," Harry mocked him with his own words.

"What is going on here?" Madam Hooch asked as she came over.

"Weasley got hurt with his broom, Professor," Hermione said innocently. "I don't know what he did, but it crashed against his nose. Maybe this is too much for him." Malfoy and the others snickered while Harry looked at Hermione with amusement.

After Madam Hooch analysed him and concluded that he was fine, she taught them how to mount their brooms. Harry barely contained a laugh after Madam Hooch said that Malfoy had been doing it wrong for years.

"Now, when I blow the whistle, all of you will kick off from the ground and rise steadily for a couple of moments before touching down back onto the ground. On my whistle... three - two -"

Madam Hooch couldn't even finish counting before Longbottom lifted off of the ground, clearly frightened.

"Mister Longbottom! Get back down on the ground!"

Neville seemed unable to go down; instead, he kept rising vertically, more scared and nervous by the second. His broom ascended higher until it reached thirty feet and Neville lost his grip, falling off of it.

_**CRASH!** _

Neville whimpered, his face planted in the dirt, as Madam Hooch quickly moved to his side and started inspecting him.

"Broken wrist," She muttered. "Alright Mister Longbottom, up you go!" She helped him up before looking towards the rest of the class sternly. "I'm taking Longbottom to the infirmary. None of you are allowed to move while I'm gone. If I see one of you flying, you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch.'"

Neville limped away with Madam Hooch. As soon as they were out of earshot, Malfoy started laughing rudely.

"Did you see his face? The pathetic squib couldn't even manage to fly properly." Crabbe, Goyle, and Parkinson cackled while the other Slytherins looked at him with neutral expressions that showed they weren't amused. Harry thought about standing up for Longbottom, but he didn't want to risk losing any points or other punishments from the castle by not supporting his house-mates, so he stayed quiet.

"Shut up, Malfoy!" Patil snapped at him, crossing her arms.

"Oooooh, someone has a crush on little, baby, Longbottom." Parkinson laughed cruelly.

"Look!" Malfoy exclaimed as he moved to where Longbottom had crashed and grabbed something from the ground. "The idiot forgot his remembrall!" He guffawed.

"Give it here, Malfoy!" Noah snapped as he stepped in front of him.

"No," Malfoy shot him an unpleasant smirk. "No, I don't think I will. I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find it." He climbed on his broom. "Maybe on the roof."

"Give it here!" Noah shouted, but by that point Malfoy had already taken off and gracefully flown about a dozen meters up in the air.

"Come and get it, Potter!" Malfoy shouted snidely.

As soon as he said it, Noah got up on his broom and flew towards Malfoy.

"Why is Malfoy doing this? This is so stupid!" Harry whispered to Hermione who was looking at the whole scene impassively.

Before she could answer, Malfoy threw the remembrall across the air and Noah sped off towards it. Harry followed its path easily and compared it with his brother's path. After all the times Harry had seen Noah play Quidditch, there was no doubt in him that his brother was going to catch it.

And he was proven right when his brother managed to do just that a moment before the remembrall was about to smash on the pavement.

"What were you thinking!?" Harry hissed at Malfoy who was back on the ground as all the Gryffindors gazed at Noah with awe. "You could've broken Longbottom's remembrall! Didn't you say it was a centuries year-old heirloom!? Do you have any idea how much trouble you would've been in if you broke that!?"

"The remembrall wasn't going to break, they are charmed to handle falls. Besides, you haven't even seen the best part." The boy motioned behind him and Harry turned around to see Professor McGonagall walking briskly towards them.

"How did you know that was going to happen?"

"I didn't," He said with a shrug. "I saw her just as I landed."

"NOAH POTTER!" Professor McGonagall shouted and Noah's triumphant look turned into shock for a moment. "Never, in all my time at Hogwarts - You could have died! You could have broken your neck!" It was clear that the Professor was in shock.

"Professor, it wasn't his fault!"

"Be quiet, Mister Weasley."

"But, Professor-"

"You too, Miss Patil. Noah Potter, come with me." She finished sternly.

Malfoy and his small group laughed as Noah was led away by Professor McGonagall. Harry however, didn't. He just watched his brother as he walked confidently behind the Professor.

* * *

_**Slytherin Common Room** _

_**5:00 p.m.** _

"Why the bloody hell did you do that?" Harry exclaimed at Malfoy as soon as they were in the common room.

"Maybe you didn't notice, Potter, but I got your little brother in trouble. So unless you're siding with him, then I don't understand what you mean."

"I'm not siding with my brother, Malfoy!" Harry snapped as he sat down on a couch next to Hermione while Malfoy and his group sat across from him. "What I mean is why do you have to act like that! Longbotton hasn't even said anything to you, what is the point in hounding him? Is there an unofficial rule in Slytherin House that you have to be the most unlikeable asshole?"

"It's called being smart, Potter," Malfoy started smoothly. "You see how easy it is to rile up the Gryffindors. If we keep making comments like that when there are no teachers around, they're more likely to act recklessly and do or say something that will cost them house points, which makes it easier for Slytherin to win the House Cup."

"And you win personal points in the process," Hermione noted. Malfoy smirked.

"Very good, Granger." Harry slightly narrowed his eyes at Malfoy. "It seems like you're finally starting to get what it means to be a Slytherin."

Harry's eyes suddenly widened as he realized something. "At the same time, it makes the house look like just a bunch of idiot bullies... The other houses will just think that Slytherin is just where the pure-blooded bigots with no brains go. You're making them forget that Slytherin's traits are cleverness, cunning, and resourcefulness. You want them to underestimate us!"

"Yes, very good, Potter. There might be hope for you two yet," Malfoy drawled with a cruel smile.

Harry shook his head. "And that's all well and good, but you're forgetting one thing." Malfoy gave him a questioning glance. "Noah is _The Boy Who Lived_. Do you really think that the teachers will punish him for anything he does?"

"Madam Hooch forbade any of us from moving, she said that we would be 'out of Hogwarts faster than we can say Quidditch.' Now, while I don't think that Dumbledore will expel the Stupid Potter, He'll at least get a couple of weeks or even a month of detentions. That and points lost."

Harry barked a bitter laugh. "Are you really that naive, Malfoy!? Noah is _The Boy Who Lived_! I don't know if you've noticed, but pretty much everyone treats him like he's royalty. I can assure you that he won't be punished. In fact, with Noah's luck, he'll probably make the stupid Quidditch team!"

"Oh, honestly Harry." Hermione surprised Harry by exasperatedly interrupting. "Don't be ridiculous. Noah Potter was just caught breaking school rules. There's no way they're going to reward him and break their own rules by allowing a first-year to be in the Quidditch Team. At the most, they'll take a few points from Gryffindor and send him on his way. But they surely wouldn't do that."

"For once, I agree with Granger," Malfoy said and Harry was surprised when even Parkinson nodded, even if only reluctantly. "There's no way Potter's going to be placed in the Gryffindor Quidditch Team."

* * *

_**Two Hours And Nine Minutes Later...** _

"You two were saying?" Harry remarked bitterly as he went back to his food.

Just a moment ago, Noah Potter had entered the Great Hall, holding a brand-new Nimbus 2000 in his hand and triumphantly strutting towards the Gryffindor Table, where he was warmly received by the Gryffindor Quidditch Team and Ronald Weasley.

Hermione completely dropped her impassive face and stared at the scene in front of her with a mixture of shock, outrage, and disappointment. Malfoy wasn't doing much better as he had choked on his drink. Pretty much everyone at the Slytherin table stared wide-eyed at the newest player of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team.

"That's… that's… that's…" Hermione was speechless for the first time since he'd met her.

"Stupid? Unfair? Shameless favouritism? Just plain wrong? Yeah, welcome to my world." He stabbed his fork into the pork chops on his plate.

"No," Malfoy said with a determined face he'd never seen on the blond before. "No, this isn't over yet." He looked at Harry. "I'll need your help."

"What? Why would I help you?"

"Look, I have a plan, Potter. Just back me up, will you?" Harry stared at him as he weighed things over. "Do you trust me?" Malfoy asked.

"Not completely, no." Harry said truthfully.

"Good," Malfoy smirked. "I wouldn't want to be friends with an idiot."

Harry studied the blond more carefully. There was something about Malfoy that worried him. It was peculiar that he had completely changed his views of Hermione after Harry had called him out. He didn't think for a second that Malfoy was being genuine with Hermione. True, it was the Slytherin move for Malfoy to ignore his prejudices against muggle-borns when he talked to Hermione since Harry had been defending her. But still… he thought he should be wary around Malfoy.

However, if Harry refused Malfoy now, he knew he would lose all the progress he'd made with the blond. Malfoy had the potential of being a strong ally and good friend; throwing that away for no real reason would be something really stupid. Besides, he was sure he'd win personal points for participating in Malfoy's scheme if it turned out well...

"Alright," Harry smiled. "What's the plan?"

"Just follow my lead. We'll wait until they leave the Great Hall." Harry nodded and the two of them waited for forty more minutes before Noah and Ron finally stood up together and started to leave the Great Hall alone.

"Come on, let's go," Malfoy urged and the two of them followed the Gryffindors.

As soon as they left the Great Hall, Harry saw the quick glance that Malfoy gave him and took it as a sign that he wanted him to start the conversation. Harry gave a mental sigh before putting on his mask. "Hello, little brother!" Harry exclaimed cheerfully as he clapped Noah in the back. "Well, would you look at that! Is that a new broom? Did Daddy give you a consolation present for getting expelled from Hogwarts?"

Noah and Ron laughed at him. "Is that what you think this is? And you're supposed to be the smart one."

Harry fought back the urge to smirk. He took a subtle glance at Malfoy who gave him an almost imperceptible nod.

"Just had your final meal, Stupid Potter?" Malfoy drawled.

Noah snorted. "Yeah, sure Malfoy. You sure seem a lot braver here than in the air."

Malfoy shrugged. "I can take you at any time. Tonight, if you want. Wizard's Duel, midnight, in the trophy room. That's always unlocked."

 _Oh,_ Harry thought with a mental chuckle. _I see what you're playing at, Malfoy._

"A wizard's duel?" Noah snorted.

"What's wrong, you scared little brother?"

"Of you and Malfoy?" He laughed. "Not a chance. You're on. I assume you'll be Malfoy's second?"

"Naturally. Will Ickle Ronniekins be yours?"

"Yeah."

"Good, I can't wait for a chance to put you in your places," Harry said with an exaggerated nastiness he'd picked up from the other Slytherins.

"Just a week in the snake house, and you're already one of them. You make me sick," Noah spat.

"Well, what can I say? A snake's skin fits me well. See you in four hours, little brother."

Noah sneered at him before he and Ron walked away. Harry and Malfoy stood in complete silence until they were sure the two Gryffindors were gone before bursting out in laughter.

"So, you get it?" Malfoy asked but seemed like he already knew the answer.

"Of course I do, even an imbecile could have figured it out. The plan is to make Noah and Weasley believe we're going, but we'll rat them out, and they'll get punished. You needed me to come because I can get under Noah's skin very easily, and you wanted to make sure they go."

"I knew there was a reason I liked you," Malfoy smirked. "You seem to have all the brains in the Potter family." They both shared a laugh at that. "Come on, let's go tell Filch." Malfoy started walking, but Harry didn't.

"Wait, you want to tell Filch?"

"Obviously, he's the one that patrols at night. Do try to keep up, Potter."

"Filch isn't the only one though," Harry could feel the broad grin on his face. "The teachers also patrol and unlike Filch, I don't think it's easy to escape them." _Especially not if they take the invisibility cloak,_ he thought to himself.

And Harry so wished Noah did. If Noah got caught with the invisibility cloak while using it to roam around the school in the middle of the night, it could be taken away from him. Invisibility cloaks were banned items at Hogwarts. If the _right_ person caught them, there was a chance that Noah would lose his cloak.

"What are you proposing?"

"We'll give Snape an… _anonymous_ tip that Noah and Weasley will be at the trophy room at midnight. Snape hates Noah more than anyone else, I doubt that he would pass the chance to catch him. And he'll push for a punishment harsher than any other professor."

Harry was sure that he was wearing the same wicked grin that just crossed Malfoy's face.

* * *

_**Slytherin Common Room** _

_**9:35 p.m.** _

"Where are we going, Harry?" Hermione asked as they left the common room.

"Just around the corner. Don't worry, we'll be back before curfew."

They walked in silence for a couple of moments before they reached the nearest classroom. He opened the door for Hermione and let her in, walking after her. As the two entered the room, Harry saw that Flint was already there with Higgs and another girl he didn't know.

"What's going on?" Hermione asked suspiciously as she looked at the trio. "Why are you here?"

"I believe it is because I was the one who set this up," Flint drawled sarcastically as he sat on the teacher's desk. "How's the arm?"

Harry shrugged. "It's better now, but I still feel it every once in a while." Hermione turned to him with narrowed eyes before looking at Flint.

"You haven't told Granger anything, have you? Interesting…" He turned towards Hermione. "Potter and I have come to an arrangement on your behalf. For the next three years, my friends and I will protect you from anyone who tries to attack you. We'll also be teaching you defensive spells and warding spells. Until you learn how to cast those spells, we'll ward your bed and trunks for you. Don't worry, you don't have to pay us nor will you owe us anything. That's between Harry and me."

Without even seeing Hermione's face, he knew she wouldn't let him leave without an explanation.

"These are all your friends?" Harry questioned, looking at the other two.

Flint laughed. "Obviously not, but I wasn't about to bring everyone now, was I? No, they are just here to introduce themselves. Harry, you've met Higgs." The boy nodded at him and Harry nodded back. "He's going to be teaching you basic but useful spells that every Slytherin should know - warding, locking, and the sort. He'll do that every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9 to 11."

"That ends after curfew," Hermione noted firmly.

"Then, you'd better not get caught." Flint grinned at her. "Now, I will be taking over on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, and I'll teach you jinxes, hexes, curses, and more. Not all of them will be exactly… _clean_ , but I'm not going to teach you unforgivables or any really illegal spells. Just don't expect this to be the clean-cut curriculum from the Ministry. And finally, Gemma here," (The girl nodded curtly at the two of them.) "Will take over Sundays and teach you healing spells. Obviously since you're just first years, we'll start with small things. By third year, we'll be teaching you more advanced stuff." He paused and his face hardened. "We expect you to keep up - we're not giving any more of our time to teach you. If you don't understand something after we've taught it, you're going to have to give up on it or learn it on your own."

"Fair enough."

"Now, since this is our OWL year, we'll be very busy, especially during the last few months. So after March, we're going to reduce the amount of time we spend on our little sessions." Flint stood up. "We'll use this classroom for all our meetings, but we're not going to start until next Monday."

The three of them walked towards the door, but Flint stopped before they left. "Oh, and Potter... don't tell anyone else about this arrangement. I'm not teaching any other kids. I'm doing enough already that it will be a _big_ favour."

Harry nodded and the three older students left. And then… he waited. He knew what was going to happen and just waited for it, not daring to look at Hermione.

"Harry…" Hermione's tone was not what he was expecting. He had expected angry shouts and glares and maybe one or two 'idiots' into the mix. He didn't expect her voice to be filled with concern. "What did you do?"

Harry schooled his face and turned to her. "It's nothing, Hermione. Just a small agreement between Flint and me, don't worry abo-"

" _ **Don't give me that crap, Potter!**_ " She bellowed at him. "I saw Flint's hand! He has the same scars as you do." She paused and looked at him worriedly. "You made some sort of devil's bargain with him, didn't you?" She slowly walked towards him and gently grabbed his right hand, tracing her fingers over his scars.

"Hermione, it wasn't a devil's bargain, and I'd do it again in a second," Harry responded. Hermione ignored it, still studying his scars morosely.

"What did you promise him, Harry?" Her brown eyes were filled with so much worry that he couldn't bring himself to lie to her.

"A favour," He breathed out. "I obviously made contingencies in the vow so that it isn't anything absurd," He added, hoping to reassure her.

"The vow?"

_Crap!_

"The unbreakable vow," Harry reluctantly answered. "Basically, I'm obligated to grant him the favour, or I'll…" He trailed off, knowing Hermione would get what he meant.

"Why?" She asked in a voice barely above a whisper. "Why?" Her voice was now slightly louder. "Why did you do this?" Her voice started getting heated. "Why the bloody hell did you do this!?" She hit him repeatedly in his left arm.

"Because you're my friend," He whispered with a small smile after he stopped her from hitting him. "Besides, this is for me too. I would have become a target sooner or later. This way, both of us get some protection and even some extracurricular classes for the next few years." Hermione looked at him hesitantly. "Look, I meant what I said. I'd do it again in a second. This is the best way we'll make it through for the next three years, and we can make connections with those three. I don't know Flint or any of them, but I don't think he wants to take advantage of me. He agreed to a lot of the conditions I made in our vow, so I think he just wants me to be an ally. And, if I'm wrong and Flint asks for a… _hard_ favour, well... I'll cross that bridge when I get there."

Hermione looked at him with bloodshot eyes for what seemed like an eternity before she suddenly leapt towards him and engulfed him in a tight hug. Harry stiffened in surprise - not because he had been a stranger to hugs, but because he never expected Hermione to hug him. They had only been friends for a week, and in that time he'd thought that Hermione wasn't very affectionate or touchy. She was very reserved and only dropped her stony facade when she was alone with him.

The hug wasn't long, only lasting a couple of seconds before Hermione backed away and gave him a shy smile.

"I… thank you, Harry."

He chuckled. "What are friends for?"

"Yeah," Hermione laughed softly before giving him a genuine smile. "Friends."

* * *

_**Trophy Room** _

_**11:58 p.m.** _

Noah and Ron opened the door to the Trophy Room as quietly as possible, sneaking inside and leaving the door open behind them. They looked around the room to make sure that no one else was there before Noah took off the cloak from them.

"Malfoy and your brother aren't here yet," Ron remarked in a whisper. "We should go over all those jinxes we practised before they get here."

"Alright, let's just hide the cloak somewhere nearby, I don't want Malfoy figuring out that I hav-"

Noah was interrupted when suddenly the door to the trophy room closed loudly. Then, the door on the other side of the Gallery closed loudly. They were locked in.

"Well, well, well…" A voice drawled, making Noah and Ron stiffen. Suddenly, Snape appeared out of nowhere right in front of them, as if he had been invisible. "Out for a midnight stroll, are we?"

Noah gulped at Snape's predatory expression.

* * *

_**September 11, 1991** _

_**Headmaster's Office** _

_**12:30 a.m.** _

Noah sat in fearful silence beside Ron as Snape finished telling the Headmaster what had happened. After hearing Snape's account, it was now clear to Noah that he had been set up. Malfoy and Harry were never going to go to the duel; instead, they had snitched on him and Ron to get them into trouble, and for the first time in his life, Noah was actually worried.

Snape had a triumphant smirk on his face, looking at him from the corner of the room. Professor McGonagall was also there, a tartan robe over her nightgown and her hair down instead of in its tight bun. She regarded Noah and Ron with a mixture of disappointment and shame. Dumbledore for his part had a neutral expression, which Noah took as the only good thing going for them.

"Headmaster, it is clear that Noah Potter has a complete and utter disregard for the rules. The fact that he is ' _The Boy Who Lived_ ' shouldn't exempt him of being punished. Earlier today, he broke another rule and started flying around without supervision despite a direct order from Madam Hooch to remain grounded. Yet, instead of being punished, he was rewarded with a position on the Gryffindor Quidditch team and an unfair allowance of his personal broom, despite being a first-year. I'm afraid that if we continue treating the boy in this way, it will do more harm than good. As you are aware Headmaster, invisibility cloaks are banned items, Potter brought one to this school and used it to romp around the school during the middle of the night-"

"That's a lie, Harry and Malfoy challenged us to a wiz-" Noah yelled, interrupting Snape. Snape then interrupted Noah.

"Silence!" Snape hissed at him before looking at Dumbledore. "Headmaster, I'm pushing for extreme punishment for both Weasley and Potter. At least four hundred points each for leaving the common room after curfew; two months of detentions to Potter for bringing a banned item into the school; and, for the cloak itself to be sent back to his parents."

Noah gaped at the harsh punishment. Before he could complain, Dumbledore spoke calmly.

"I appreciate your input, Severus, but as Noah is in Gryffindor, it is up to Minerva to determine their punishment. As for the invisibility cloak, there will be no punishment for that." Snape looked like he was about to explode, but Dumbledore raised a hand to stop him. "The cloak is a family heirloom, and James contacted me personally before the school year and asked if Noah could bring it, to which I agreed. However, I didn't allow it so that it could be used this way, Noah. I expect you to reserve its use more for better endeavours instead of just using it for rule breaking. If you are found using it this way again, I'm afraid I will revoke my permission, and it will be sent back home. Is that clear, Noah?"

"But, sir! Harry and Malfoy! It's their fault-"

"Mister Weasley, Harry and Mister Malfoy were in bed when you were found. Professor Snape already sent a prefect to check on them."

"They tricked us! They told us they were going to be out there!"

"They might have told you that. However, since that is not against the rules, I can't punish them." Noah wanted to continue arguing but realized he wouldn't change Dumbledore's mind, so he let out a long sigh as he nodded reluctantly. "Minerva, I'll leave the punishments up to you."

McGonagall stood right in front of them. "I'm disgusted. Two students, out of bed and wandering the school at midnight. I am extremely disappointed in both of you, especially you Potter. Just today, I told you how you would have to be more responsible after I allowed you to be on the Quidditch team." Noah looked dejectedly at his lap. "You will each lose two hundred points and get three week's of detention-"

"Two hundred points!?" Ron asked incredulously.

"Yes, Weasley. Two hundred points, each. Potter, I gave you a chance to be on the Quidditch team with the condition that you would improve your grades and stop disrupting the classes. You promised to be more responsible and immediately broke that promise in less than a day. It's clear that you don't yet have the maturity to be part of the team." Noah and Ron's eyes widened in fear. "You are hereby banned from the Gryffindor Quidditch team."

" _ **WHAT!?**_ " Noah and Ron shouted at the same time.

"This punishment," McGonagall continued as if she hadn't been interrupted. "Cannot be reversed. If you show enough maturity during the rest of the year, then I'll consider allowing you to try out next year. As of this moment, you are no longer allowed to play on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team and have lost the privilege of bringing your personal broom to Hogwarts.

Noah gaped at McGonagall as everything he had earned over the past twelve hours was taken away from him.

And all of it had been Harry Potter's fault.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks Proton6 and MasterChaos1 for alpha reading and WH Rutledge for beta reading!
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I never understood why Malfoy told Filch instead of Snape about the Midnight Duel. I personally think that was just a way to make them be able to escape, but oh well.
> 
> Next chapter, we'll get to see a confrontation between Noah and Harry, the Weasley twins will be introduced, and Harry and Hermione will get their first class with Marcus.


	6. Pariahs

_**PREVIOUSLY ON… HARRY POTTER AND THE HIDDEN THREAT** _

" _You sure seem a lot braver here than in the air."_

" _I can take you at any time." Malfoy shrugged. "Tonight, if you want. Wizard's Duel, midnight, in the trophy room, that's always unlocked."_

" _A wizard's duel?" Noah snorted._

" _What's wrong, you scared little brother?" Harry goaded him._

…

_McGonagall stood right in front of them. "I'm disgusted. Two students out of bed and wandering the school at midnight. You will each lose two hundred points and get three weeks of detention. Potter, I gave you a chance to be on the Quidditch team with the condition that you would improve your grades and stop disrupting the classes. You promised to be more responsible and immediately broke that promise in less than a day. It's clear that you don't have the maturity to be part of the Gryffindor team. As of this moment, your permissions of bringing your broom to Hogwarts and of playing in the Gryffindor Quidditch team are revoked."_

_Noah gaped at McGonagall as everything he had earned over the past 12 hours was taken away from him._

_And all of it had been Harry Potter's fault.  
_

* * *

_**CHAPTER 6: PARIAHS** _

_**Gryffindor Common Room** _

_**8:15 a.m.** _

The first thing Noah noticed when he descended the dormitory stairs and entered the common room was the glares. It seemed as if everyone had stopped what they were doing and turned to him with a sneer worthy of a Slytherin. Noah tried to ignore them and continued walking towards the portrait until someone bumped into him roughly.

"Well done, Potter," The older boy growled over his shoulder.

Noah rubbed his shoulder and continued walking as if nothing had happened, only to be hit in the face with a balled up piece of parchment a few moments later. He scowled at the two boys leering nastily at him but kept moving nonetheless. He was almost at the exit of the common room when he suddenly tripped and fell on his face, eliciting cruel laughter from most of the people there.

Noah stood up and, ignoring the sting in his eyes, briskly left Gryffindor Tower.

Last night, he was treated like a hero by all the Gryffindors. They held a party in his honor. Everyone looked at and admired his new Nimbus 2000 and congratulated him for making the team. The Weasley twins even gave him some butterbeer. Everything was great…

And then he and Ron snuck out at midnight while the party was still going on and were caught by Snape. As a result, he lost his position on the team, and both boys lost two hundred points for Gryffindor each, which was way over two-thirds of the total points earned by the house. When McGonagall had escorted them back to the tower and found out that there was a party going on, she ended up removing the rest of the points Gryffindor had, placing them dead last with a grand total of zero points.

Everyone, of course, blamed him and Ron, but Noah knew better. There was only one person at fault.

The snake.

This was all Harry's fault. Harry had tricked him, sided with a death eater, and snitched about it to Snape so that he could catch them. Noah knew Harry wasn't an idiot; he knew exactly what would happen if Snape caught them and he knew exactly how the other Gryffindors would act against him because of it. His own brother had betrayed him and sided with Death Eaters like Malfoy and Nott just because he was jealous of him.

Noah knew that, if given the chance, Harry would turn into a Death Eater just as bad if not worse than the other snakes, and he wouldn't think twice before betraying them again.

Noah rubbed his eyes forcefully as he made his way toward the Great Hall.

Noah didn't like his brother much; Harry was a jealous prat who thought he was better than everyone else. He was cold and antisocial, always staying in his room alone, and the only times he came out, Harry was hostile with him, mocking him, always trying to one-up him, never wanting to do anything fun.

But... he was still his brother. Harry was his brother, and Noah had thought he would never betray him just like he would never betray Harry.

He had been so wrong.

Noah entered the Great Hall and actively avoided looking at the Slytherin table. The last thing he needed today was to see Harry's smug expression. So instead, he focused on the Gryffindor Table. Immediately, he noticed that Ron was sitting alone at the edge of the table and was the recipient of many glares from the others. He thought about going to where the Quidditch Team was seated and try to explain or apologize, but he was quickly deterred by the glare Wood and the others were giving him. Thankfully, he noticed that the twins were sending him apologetic looks rather than the scowls from the others.

He approached Ron, who gave him a half-hearted smile as he sat down. For the first time in the school year, neither of them talked, opting instead to remain silent in their own misery.

Noah just knew it: today was going to be a bad day.

* * *

_**Potions Classroom  
September 13, 1991** _

_**9:05 a.m.** _

He had been wrong, dead wrong. It wasn't just a bad day - no, he wasn't that lucky. At this point, Noah was sure it would be a bad month. Everywhere he went, there was a Gryffindor to make his life miserable and it didn't appear they would be stopping anytime soon. He and Ron had been completely ostracized by everyone. Even Neville had a better standing than them!

The only silver lining of the last few days was that he had successfully managed to avoid the snakes.

Unfortunately, that wasn't going to last long as he and Ron entered the Potions classroom, which was already occupied by the damn snakes. Noah made sure not to look at or engage any of them as he and Ron walked towards the opposite side of the classroom. Malfoy, however, seemed to have any other ideas.

"Well, if it isn't Supid Potter! How are the Quidditch practices going?" He cackled from his table while the other Slytherins snickered. Noah and Ron kept moving, trying their best to ignore them. "What, no response? Are you that much of a coward? I can't believe it, _The Boy Who Lived_ is nothing more than a scared wimp that can't even take a few insults." The rest of the Slytherins started guffawing as Noah felt his blood boil. "Maybe it was for the best that you were banned from the Quidditch Team, I don't know how someone like you was expected to play-"

"Shut up!" Noah snarled at Malfoy, causing the other snakes to laugh even harder.

"There it is," Malfoy said patronizingly. "There's the Stupid Potter we all know! What's the matter, Potter? Gonna cry? Gonna run home to Mummy?"

"Shut your damn mouth, Malfoy!" Noah bellowed as he crossed the room, took out his wand, and aimed it at Malfoy.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, little brother," Harry said coldly as he and nearly every other Slytherin pulled out their wands.

"What a bunch of cowards," Noah growled as Ron tentatively pulled out his wand too and attempted to back him up. "Is that why you didn't go to the duel? You were too scared to face us alone?"

"The duel? What duel?" Malfoy turned to Harry. "Do you know what he's talking about?"

Harry looked at Noah and smirked. "I've absolutely no idea, Malfoy."

"You filthy traitor!" Ron pointed his wand directly at Harry.

"Don't you dare, Weasley!" Hermione Granger, who until this point had ignored everyone and continued reading, was now standing and snarling at Ron, the wand in her hand pointing directly at his throat.

"You got yourself a girlfriend, Potter?" Ron asked in a mocking tone. Unfortunately, his wand was shaking in the air, showing his fears.

"Are you jealous, Ickle Ronniekins? Is kissing your stuffed animals not enough for you anymore?" All the Slytherins howled in laughter at Harry's retort.

"So, that's it, huh?" Noah whispered coolly. "You're choosing all the Death Eaters over your own brother? It didn't even take you a week to betray me? To betray Mum? And Dad? And Jas? You _disgust_ me."

"I don't really care what you think about me," Harry responded, his voice deadly calm. "And I don't care what Mum or Dad think of me either. I'm done. With all of you. But I'm going to give you one warning, a last courtesy, as my brother." Harry walked around the table and stepped right in front of Noah's wand before he spoke in a cold voice that sent a shiver through Noah's spine. "Leave _me_ and _my friends_ alone. Otherwise, I'll burn you… I'll make sure that you lose _**everything**_."

The two brothers glared at each other in complete silence that was broken a moment later when the door opened forcefully and crashed against the wall.

"Potter! Weasley! Ten points each for threatening fellow students with your wands!" Snape snapped as he strode into the classroom with the other Gryffindors (who immediately glared at Noah and Ron) behind him.

"But Professor, they're pointing their wands at us too!" Ron complained.

"Weasley, five points for talking back to a teacher! Do it again and it'll be a week of detentions," Snape threatened before turning towards the Slytherins. "Potter! Five points for having your wand out in class without permission."

"Yes, sir," Harry responded reluctantly as he went back down to his seat.

Noah was about to complain to Snape for not removing any points from the other Slytherins, but he refrained from doing so, knowing it would be useless and would only result in more points taken from Gryffindor. Instead, he sneered at his brother before turning and walking back to his seat and getting ready for Snape's inevitable harassment of him and Ron.

* * *

_**Hallway Near Gryffindor Tower** _

_**September 15, 1991** _

_**8:10 p.m.** _

Noah and Ron were walking back dejectedly towards Gryffindor Tower from their detention when someone suddenly grabbed both of them roughly from behind. Without a word, they covered the boys' mouths before they could complain and dragged them into the nearest empty classroom.

"What the bloody hell was that!?" Ron shouted as they were released from their holds. It was only then that Noah realized that their captors were Fred and George.

"Quiet, Ickle Ronniekins," Fred hissed before turning his attention to the door and casting a bunch of spells Noah didn't know.

After what seemed like a minute or so, the twins finally turned back to them with mirroring grins.

"You two have been moping around for too long."

"This stops now."

"We are going to give you the cure you so need."

"And what is that?" Noah asked archly, not really in the mood for games.

"Adventure," Both twins shouted.

"No," Noah shook his head. "No, no, no, no, no. I'm already banned from the Quidditch team and I'm hated by all of Gryffindor because of my last _adventure_. I'm done, I've had my fill for the year. I'd like to regain my spot in the Quidditch team next year, thank you very much."

"Ah, Ickle Noakins." Fred put an arm across his shoulder.

"So young," George put his arm across his other shoulder.

"So naive."

"So clueless."

"So careless."

"So -"

"Stop!" Noah snapped and disentangled himself from their hold. "I'm serious, guys. I don't want to get caught, I don't want to lose more points fromGryffindor."

"What if we can give you a one hundred percent guarantee that we won't lose any points?" George asked impishly.

Noah paused. "How?" He asked, despite his best instincts.

Fred pulled out an old parchment from his robes. Both twins pointed their wands at it and chorused, "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good."

They handed the parchment to Noah who saw that words in black ink were slowly appearing over it.

_Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, And Prongs Are Proud To Present  
THE MARAUDERS MAP_

Noah and Ron stared at the map with awe. Before the twins could say anything, he opened the parchment and saw what looked to be a map of the outside of Gryffindor Tower. He saw four dots that had their names on the nearest classroom. "So this map shows-"

"Everyone."

"Everyone?"

"Everyone."

"Where they are -"

"What they're doing -"

"Every minute -"

"Of every day!" The twins finished in unison.

"Brilliant!" Ron exclaimed.

"Where'd you get it?" Noah asked without taking his eyes off of the map.

"Nicked it from Filch's office, of course." Fred said proudly.

"First year," George said with a nostalgic look.

"Who created it?" Ron asked.

"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs."

"Our heroes." George clutched his heart with an adoring look.

"But you don't actually know who they are?" Noah asked, slightly wary of using a magical artefact without knowing where it came from.

"Nah."

"But we'd love to meet them."

"We'd give up all our fortune."

"What fortune?" Ron asked snidely.

"All our eight galleons, seven sickles, and thirteen knuts," Fred said with a grin.

"A mighty fortune at that." Ron snorted, and all of them laughed.

"We can share the map," Fred continued.

"The four of us -"

"If anyone needs it, they just have to ask."

"Really?" Ron asked bewildered.

"Of course -"

"That's what brothers are for."

"Except Percy -"

"Slimy git would probably snitch on us."

"We were gonna give it to you anyways," George said to Ron.

"We were going to wait until our fifth year -"

"But after what happened -"

"We figured we could share it for now."

"Brilliant!" Ron exclaimed brightly. "Wait! This is perfect! We can use this to get revenge on Harry and the other snakes!"

"No." Fred immediately shut him down.

"Why not?" Ron asked angrily. "We should make them pay for what they did to us!"

"No, Ron, trust us. George and I learned the hard way that pranking the Slytherins is a bad idea."

"They prank back, and their pranks are way more ruthless than ours. Not only that, but it seems that the whole house starts targeting you if you target one of them."

"Trust us, it's better to leave them alone." Fred finished seriously.

"Fine," Ron grumbled.

"So you see, Ickle Noakins," Fred said, finally breaking Noah's focus from the map.

"With this map, we can't get caught!"

Noah was still hesitant, but he couldn't deny that a big part of him wanted to go with Fred and George's plan, knowing they'd proceed anyway. "What are you guys planning on doing?"

"Third floor corridor," Said Fred with a mischievous smile.

"Are you serious?" Noah exclaimed, but the twins seemed unfettered. "Dumbledore said we could die!"

"Noah, Noah." George chided.

"Where's the fun if you're not running for your life?"

"Where's your sense of adventure?"

"Your willingness to take risks?"

"Your -"

"Alright, fine!" Noah snapped without any real heat. "Fine," He grinned. "Let's do this."

The three Weasleys mirrored his expression before they left the room.

"Do you see anyone on the map?" Noah asked.

"No, everyone is still at the Great Hall having dinner," Fred told them as they made their way through the castle.

"The few stragglers are in their respective common rooms by now," George continued.

"Or in the library, but that's in the first floor -"

"And we are heading for the third floor, so we're in the clear."

"Good," Noah sighed in relief.

The four of them walked in silence for the next few minutes with Fred constantly checking to make sure no one was nearby. When they finally made it to the third-floor corridor entrance, the four of them stopped. Fred and George turned to look at Noah and Ron.

"Are you ready?" George asked with a wide smirk.

"Yeah," Ron and Noah chorused.

George nodded to Fred and the four entered the third-floor corridor. It was completely dark, the only light coming from the tips of Fred and George's wands. They stealthily made their way across the corridor and Noah was saddened by the fact that there was nothing really interesting there.

At least, not until they reached the door at the end of the corridor.

"Ready Gred?"

"Ready Forge."

"Alohomora."

George opened the door widely, ready to dash in. Before they could enter, the four of them stopped dead in their tracks. Right in front of them was a giant three-headed dog, wide awake, teeth bared, and snarling at the boys.

"George, the door!" Noah shouted, sparking the twins into action.

They immediately slammed the door, only seconds before one of the heads crashed against it with the full intention of biting whoever was near. The four of them just stood there in shocked silence for a few seconds before Ron broke it.

"What... the bloody hell... was that?" He shouted.

"That, my dear brother, was a Cerberus." George panted.

"A Cerberus!? Who has the bloody idea to keep a bloody Cerberus inside the school!? It could've killed us!"

"To be fair, Dumbledore did say that would happen if we came here," Noah deadpanned. For a moment, there was complete Fred started chuckling, which quickly turned into a howl of infectious laughter that the other three followed, successfully breaking the tension.

"So, can we agree to never come here again?" Ron asked after they had all calmed down.

"Never come here again? I'm disappointed, little brother." George teased and the other three stared at him in shock.

"You want to come back?" Fred asked incredulously.

"Of course I do." Everyone continued looking at him as if he had gone mad. George merely shook his head in exasperation. "Useless, all of you!"

Fred's eyes widened. "You saw something?" He asked eagerly. George nodded. "What did you see?"

"A trapdoor," George said with a grin. Fred's eyes seemed to be ready to completely pop out of his head.

"We need to come back again." Fred stood up and started pacing. "We need to prepare, we know what we're facing. We need to get down that trapdoor."

"Wait, why does it matter that there's a trapdoor? It could be empty, for all we know!" Ron pointed out.

"Poor Ickle Ronniekins, too dumb to understand," Fred teased.

"Shut it!" Ron snapped.

"True, for all we know that trap-door could be empty. But, we have never seen a trapdoor when we were here last year or the previous one, not even on the map."

"Which means that it must have been installed recently."

"So we have a newly added trap-door that we've never seen, and at the same time Dumbledore placed a Cerberus right above it, which means…"

"It's guarding something." Noah breathed out the conclusion.

"Indeed, and we don't know about you two -"

"But we're gonna find out what it is." Fred finished off and both twins grinned like a couple of Cheshire cats.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks Proton6 and MasterChaos1 for alpha reading and WH Rutledge for beta reading!
> 
> This was just a small chapter from Noah's POV that delved into the consequences of last chapter's cliffhanger. Next chapter will probably be longer. I hope you liked it!
> 
> Next time we'll actually go back with Harry and Hermione as they get their first class from Flint and we'll see what changes the beginning of October will bring to the first year Slytherins.


	7. Study Guide Politics

_**PREVIOUSLY ON… HARRY POTTER AND THE HIDDEN THREAT** _

" _At the end of every month, your hourglasses will document how many points you have at the time and inform me of the results. The person in each year group with the highest points at that time will be awarded the complete study guides of all the subjects at Hogwarts."_

…

" _I'll make you a deal, Potter. Right now, it's clear that things with Mulciber, Rosier, and the others will continue to escalate. So, I'll help you out. I'll make sure you and Granger are safe and make sure my friends also look out for you two. I'll even teach you some spells to protect yourselves and ward your beds and trunks."_

…

_Hermione looked at him with bloodshot eyes for what seemed like an eternity before she suddenly leapt towards him and engulfed him in a tight hug. The hug wasn't long, only lasting a couple of seconds before Hermione backed away and gave him a shy smile._

" _I… thank you, Harry."_

_He chuckled. "What are friends for?"_

" _Yeah," Hermione laughed softly before giving him a genuine smile. "Friends."  
_

* * *

_**CHAPTER 7: STUDY GUIDE POLITICS** _

_**Nearest Classroom To The Slytherin Common Room  
September 17, 1991** _

_**9:00 p.m.** _

The door to the classroom slammed open and Marcus Flint briskly strode in, shutting the door behind him harshly.

"Long Quidditch practice?" Harry asked without taking his eyes off of his book.

"Most of the team left last year and the other half will leave this year. I'm going to have to build a new one up from scratch." Flint scowled as he summoned a blackboard from the back of the room.

"Which spots will be open next year?" Harry closed his book and turned his chair towards the front.

"One chaser, one seeker, and one keeper." Flint narrowed his eyes at him. "Why?"

"No reason, just seeing if it's worth all the fuss," Harry answered offhandedly, ignoring as Hermione rolled her eyes at him.

"You any good?" Flint raised an eyebrow at him.

"I'm a fair flyer," He added with a shrug.

Flint looked at him carefully. "I want you to join the team next year," He said finally.

"And I want my brother to get his head out of his arse. Unfortunately, we don't always get what we want." Harry deadpanned.

"Potter, whether you like it or not, we're allies. Our little deal made sure of that. If we're going to be allies, we have to work together. I don't know if you noticed, but about a third of Slytherin wants you, and by extension me, dead."

"Just because we are allies, _Flint_ , doesn't mean you get to order me around. I'm not going to be one of your lackeys."

"And I don't want you to be, but we're allies, and you're going to have to trust me from time to time." Harry scoffed at his words. "Our vow made it explicit that neither you or I can do anything that will directly or indirectly cause each other harm," Flint reminded him.

Harry glared at him for a couple of moments before he sighed. "What is so important about the Quidditch team? Why do you _need_ me there?"

"When Professor Snape told you about the point system, he left out a few things that are extremely important but not entirely necessary to know, so they can be avoided. Points aren't just given for things that happen inside the castle. Quidditch is an extremely big part of it. Just having a spot on the team gives you a load of personal points. Every time you score or make a good play, you get personal points, and if the seeker catches the snitch, they get an obscene amount. If the team wins, they all get points. However, you also lose points if you mess up a big play, or if the other seeker catches the snitch, or anything that costs Slytherin the victory."

"That's all well and good, but why do you care if I win personal points? You still haven't answered why _you_ need _me_ on the team."

"It surprises me how at times you can be really smart and other times you can be a complete idiot, Potter." Harry sneered at the insult, but Flint ignored him. "Like I told you, Potter, we are allies now. Your victories are my victories. If you are at the bottom of the year, then you're no good to me."

"That's a peculiar way of putting it," Hermione spoke before Harry could say anything. She looked up from her book and stared at Flint. "You need Harry on the team so that he can take up a slot . He's your ally, so you would support each other and you would benefit from his gain. But by having Harry on the team, you're making sure that the slot he takes can't be taken by another person who isn't your ally or another person in your year that could win the study guides from you or fight you for the Head Boy position."

Flint smirked at her. "Good girl," Hermione scoffed at that and went back to her book. "Yes, Potter. Your girlfriend is right-"

"She's not my-"

"Having you on the team makes sure that I have more allies there and removes the competition. However, that doesn't take away the fact that it's a really good option for you. you should consider it. The personal points are more important than just giving you some study guides or making you prefect. As I'm sure you know, there are a lot of Slytherins in positions of power in the Ministry or other important establishments, and they ask for your Slytherin House record when you're dealing with them. Even when you get out of Hogwarts, the personal points are still important, so I suggest you take this seriously."

"Fine, fine," Harry huffed. He wasn't against the idea of joining the team, but he didn't like the thought that he might be playing into a bigger scheme of Flint's. "I'll think about it."

"Good. Now, let's start." As he said that, Hermione immediately put away her book and pulled out some parchment and quills. Flint raised an eyebrow at her but said nothing. "The first spell we're going to be learning is pretty simple, but extremely useful. In fact, it's the spell I used to help you out the other day. It's the disarming charm..."

For the next hour Harry and Hermione completely devoted themselves to practicing the spell. Flint explained the theory of the disarming charm (for which Hermione took many notes) before he gave them his own personal tips. Hermione was pretty smart and picked up on the spell pretty quickly with the theory she had learnt. Harry took a little while more, but he still managed to do it quicker than most others, according to Flint.

"Now, knowing the spell isn't enough. You need to practice actually dueling." Flint smirked at them. "Since I have much more experience than you, you're going to have to duel each other. Stand in the center of the room." He commanded and Harry and Hermione did as they were told.

Flint banished all the desks to the edge of the room before he erected dueling shields that formed in a dome shape around them.

Harry grinned at Hermione before moving to one side of the dome. Hermione just rolled her eyes at him with amusement before she moved to the opposite side.

"Ready to lose, Granger?"

"You wish, Potter." She quickly raised her wand. "Expelliarmus!" She shouted and Harry barely dodged the spell.

"Rude," He said with mock hurt. "We hadn't even started the duel."

"It's not my fault you weren't prepared. It's not like Rosier is going to wa- eek!" Hermione squeaked before dodging his spell at the last second. "And you call me rude," She huffed.

"But you like it when I'm rude, don't you?" He asked cheekily.

"I'll show you rude - Expelliarmus!"

The month of September flew by pretty quickly for Harry after that. He and Hermione continued their usual routine, spending pretty much every waking moment together, whether it was studying at the library, training with Flint and the others in the empty classroom, or just reading during their free time in the common room.

However, as the month neared its end, the atmosphere around the other Slytherins grew more tense each day. It seemed as if everyone wanted to win the study guides for themselves, and their level of effort showed it. Almost every point given out in class was easily won by a Slytherin to the point that even the Ravenclaws were getting annoyed with them. Whether classwork, quizzes, or exams, most of the Slytherins were on top.

Granted, that didn't mean every Slytherin performed highly. Crabbe and Goyle were pretty much failing everything, Parkinson and Bullstrode were barely getting acceptables, and while Zabini and Davis were above the class average, they weren't a threat. No, it was the remaining four that Harry considered to be the real threat.

Hermione and Greengrass were fighting for the top spot of the class, almost always getting perfect scores in every assignment of every subject. Hermione, of course, being the brilliant witch that she was, managed to stay on top most of the time, but it was clear that Greengrass wasn't going to let her have it without a fight. Malfoy turned out to be surprisingly smart as well, managing to be a rival for the usual third spot with Harry. While Harry excelled at Defence, Transfiguration, and Charms, Malfoy had him beat in Potions and Herbology.

The person that surprised Harry the most, however, was Theodore Nott. The boy was the only Slytherin that didn't seem to have a faction. Even Harry had Hermione. But every time that the first-year group separated while they were inside the common room, Nott was always alone, and most of the time Harry didn't see him studying. At the beginning of the month, Harry had dismissed Nott as another Zabini; however the boy had managed to stay near the top of the rankings, where Harry considered him a threat.

In the end, Harry knew one thing; the fight for the top spot of the year was going to be extremely close.

* * *

_**Slytherin Common Room  
October 1, 1991** _

_**7:35 a.m.** _

"Did you get them?" Hermione asked in a hush whisper as soon as he had arrived in the common room.

"Good morning to you too," He said with a cheeky grin.

Hermione huffed before grabbing him by the arm and pulling him out of the common room and into the nearest broom closet.

"Cozy," Harry noted as he removed a cobweb from his hair.

"Well!?" Hermione crossed her arms. "Did you get them?"

"The study guides?"

"Yes, the study guides!" She snapped at him.

"Not that I'm aware of." Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "I didn't actually look for them, you know? It's not like I thought they would just drop on my head during the night. I assumed Snape would give them to the winner later. We do have potions after breakfast, you know."

Hermione bit her lower lip. "Maybe you're right," She said, not really sounding convinced, before once again grabbing him by the arm and dragging him out of the closet.

"Where are we going now? I would like to get breakfast before our morning classes, you know?"

"Hush, we're skipping breakfast. We need to analyze this," She said matter-of-factly without stopping.

It didn't take them long for them to reach their table at the library. After Hermione placed the usual privacy charms that Higgs had taught them over the past month, she pulled out a small notebook Harry had seen her use constantly.

"Ooooh, are you finally going to show me your diary?" Harry grinned at her.

"What!?" Her head shot up from the notebook with a panicked expression before scowling. "I don't have a diary."

"Your blush says otherwise." Her blush only got worse when he said that, causing him to laugh.

"I don't have a diary. I have a journal," She said primly. "It's important to keep track of what happens every day in case I ever need that information."

"Uh-huh, so are you showing me your _journal_?"

"No, this isn't my journal. _This_ is an archive of every point every first-year Slytherin has ever received."

"I'm sorry, what now?" He raised her eyebrows at her.

"Exactly what I said. I've been keeping track of every point given and taken of every Slytherin in our year. Granted, these are only the points from our classes, but points given outside of classes are pretty rare, so this should be fairly accurate to the actual number of points everyone has gained."

"Hermione, not to diminish your efforts or anything, but was that really necessary? It's obvious to everyone that Crabbe and Goyle are failing and probably have negative points, that Zabini, Bulstrode, Parkinson, and Davis have little to no points at all, and that the only real threats are the other three."

"But you see, that's where you're wrong," Hermione said with a smirk. "Just because the two of us, Greengrass, Malfoy, and Nott are the top of the class, that doesn't mean we're at the top of the points. Ignoring the fact that the castle gives out or takes away other points without us knowing, there's more to points than just the ones they give for our quizzes and homework. The teachers also give them out for participation, for showing an example, for little things like those that count. So, even though you are always about the third best of our group, you're fifth place in points."

"What!?"

"Here." Hermione gave him her notebook and Harry gaped at the numbers.

_**TOTAL NET POINTS PER PERSON  
1\. Hermione Granger - 300** _

_**2\. Daphne Greengrass - 285** _

_**3\. Blaise Zabini - 270** _

_**4\. Draco Malfoy - 250** _

_**5\. Harry Potter - 235** _

_**6\. Tracey Davis - 170** _

_**7\. Theodore Nott - 130** _

_**8\. Pansy Parkinson - -65** _

_**9\. Millicent Bulstrode - -75** _

_**10\. Vincent Crabbe - -275  
11\. Gregory Goyle - -290** _

"There has to be a mistake," Harry scoffed. "There's no way I'm in fifth place! Are you sure you counted right? There's an obscene amount of points here."

"Of course I counted right!" Hermione snapped, snatching the notebook out of his hands. "The points are accurate. Teachers constantly give out points in class for answering questions, top results in exams or assignments, among many other things. But they also take points for things like cheating, incomplete homeworks, or doing bad in assignments or quizzes. Because of that, we usually end up losing at least half, if not more, of the total points given out. While you may be top of the class,you rarely participate, Harry. Zabini may not have as many Outstandings as you, but he sucks up to the teachers and always answers every question he can. Besides, Snape's bias against you doesn't really help either."

"And why didn't you tell me before!?"

"Well…" Hermione ducked her head. "I was sure that I would end up winning the study guides and that you would learn your lesson if you did poorly, but now I'm not so sure."

"Alright..." Harry paused for a second to calm himself down. "It's fine. We still don't know that we didn't win the study guides, correct?"

Hermione looked at him uncertainly. "I'm not so sure. Snape could give them to us later, but most everyone expected him to award them during the night."

"Do you think Greengrass won them?"

"Maybe… She's the closest to me, and we still don't know how the castle gives or takes points. We don't know how many it gives. How many points did you have in your hourglass this morning?"

"395, you?"

"410. You see! You almost beat me and I was 75 points ahead of you!"

"It's not a surprise, really," He said impishly.

"Hush, I still beat you." She hit his shoulder and ignored his cry of pain. "You're proof that the points given out by the castle are incredibly influential. For all we know, Goyle could be the winner!" Harry looked at her skeptically. "Oh, alright. Maybe not Goyle, but it could be any of the others."

"So, this is useless?"

Hermione sighed and slumped her shoulders. "Yes, it's useless."

"Look, let's just wait it out. If we didn't manage to win them this month, there's nothing we can do about it, but we're going to get them next time."

"Right," Hermione nodded determinately. "We'll get them."

* * *

_**Slytherin Common Room** _

_**8:15 p.m.** _

"First-years! Group meeting!" Daphne called out in the common room.

"Can she do that?" Harry asked Hermione and she rolled her eyes before closing her book, standing up, and following Daphne out of the common room.

He sighed and stood up before going with the rest of his year mates. The group entered the classroom where he and Hermione would later meet up with Flint and Harry moved to Hermione's side, sitting down on the desk beside her as she started reading again.

"So, Lady Greengrass," Harry said with mock graveness. "You have called this meeting. You have the floor."

The girl glared at him but ignored him. "I want to make a deal, with all of you."

"About what?" Malfoy asked.

"The study guides."

"So you didn't get them?" Nott voiced what Harry was thinking from the corner.

"I was thinking," Greengrass continued, ignoring Nott. "That we could all team up and share the study guides. That way Slytherin can be on top of the year always and we can all get easy Outstandings."

"You know, it's funny that you're suggesting this now that you know you lost rather than before." Harry raised his eyebrows at Daphne. "I think I know what happened here. You were sure that you or one of your little group would get them, and when that didn't happen you did this as a last ditch effort to get them."

"It sounds like you're the one who won the study guides, Potter," Malfoy said, studying him carefully.

"I never said I had them. I'm only saying that _if_ I had them, I wouldn't agree to this deal. I would like to secure my spot at the top, thank you very much. I'm sure you would agree, wouldn't you, Malfoy?" He turned towards Daphne. "And so would you, Greengrass. If you had won the study guides, would you have accepted this deal?"

"So, you won't share them?" Zabini asked archly.

"I never said I had-"

"Cut the crap, Potter." Parkinson drawled. "We know that either you or Granger have them."

Harry opened his mouth to retort but he was cut off. "You're right, I have them." Hermione didn't even look up from her book as she said that.

"Like I said," Harry grinned at them, following Hermione's game for now. "I never said _I_ had them."

"So, Granger? What do you say? We all agree to always share the study guides all throughout the years. That way, you will always have them without the risk of losing them," Daphne pressed on.

"I believe Harry already answered for the two of us."

"You're just going to let Potter boss you around?" Bullstrode said angrily.

"I'm not letting Harry do anything I don't want him to," Hermione said, her voice deadly calm. She finally looked up from her book. "We are in agreement that taking this deal would be a really stupid decision, so yes, Harry can speak for me when I don't want to listen to your whining. Why would we share the study guides with you and give you an equal footing to us when we're already beating you. Remember who's at the top of the class, Greengrass," Hermione finished with a sweet smile.

"Careful, Granger. You don't want me as an enemy. Remember that you're still a muggle-born with no influence."

"And you don't want me as your enemy, Greengrass," Harry spoke up coldly. "And that's exactly what's going to happen if you speak to Hermione like that again. You heard her, we're not sharing, we don't owe you anything."

"What about me, Potter?" Malfoy drawled. "You owe me a favour for what we did to your brother."

"No, I don't. You benefited as much, if not more, than me with our little scheme. Besides, if we had gone with your original plan of going to Filch rather than Snape, it would have most likely failed."

Malfoy raised his eyebrows in amusement but said nothing.

"You're going to regret this. Throwing away our friendship for a couple of study guides? Are you really that stupid?" Daphne glared at Hermione.

"Friendship? Don't make me laugh, Greengrass. Do you really think I'm that naive?" Hermione scowled. "No, we're not friends. We're not partners. We're not even allies. We're nothing. The only reason we are even seen together is because of the castle's rules. It's time you remembered that. All of you."

"When you lose those study guides to me, don't come crying about it, Granger," Greengrass sneered at her and left the room, followed by her faction.

Malfoy looked at them carefully before standing up and leaving with his group in tow, leaving only Harry, Hermione, and Nott in the classroom. The other Slytherin studied them for a second.

"Do you think that was smart?" He enquired.

"No one's ever accused me of being dumb," Hermione responded primly.

"You don't actually have the study guides, do you?"

Hermione smiled at him. "It's close to curfew, you should leave."

Nott continued staring at Harry and Hermione for a moment before leaving. As soon as he did, Harry stood up and cast the usual privacy and locking enchantments on the door and windows before turning to Hermione.

"Alright, why did we lie about having the study guides and antagonized the whole house?"

"Harry, would you have accepted the deal?"

"No, of course not! I'd be an idiot to do so. Accepting the deal would basically put everyone on equal footing and risk our chances of getting to be prefects or any other perks that being the top of the class would give us."

"Exactly. So why are you making a fuss out of this?"

"I'm not making a fuss about anything." Hermione looked unconvinced. "I'm not! I just don't get how taking credit for being the ones that have the study guides was the right move."

"Harry, if we had not taken credit for it, the conversation would have gone for hours on end. Now, I don't know about you, but I wouldn't have wanted to spend all that time listening to them bicker over who or who doesn't have the study guides. Besides, this is a confrontation that would have happened at some point during the year. We're not going to share our study guides, Potter. We're not giving up our advantages and we're not going to make peace with the other Slytherins if it means sharing them. You already made that vow, which was a really stupid decision-"

"Oi!"

"A really stupid decision that I appreciated very much," She added with a small smile. "However, that doesn't change the fact that it was still stupid, but we're doing the best we can with them and because of that vow, we don't need to make alliances with them. Later, they will realize that they need us more than we need them, and they'll come back crawling on their knees. _We_ don't need them, Harry, so having this argument now isn't a big deal. It was going to happen eventually. This way, we ended the conversation early _and_ we made sure to prove our point, even if we don't have the study guides right now."

"Fine, you're right."

"Aren't, I always?" She shot him an impish smile.

Harry rolled his eyes at her. "Who do you think has them? The study guides, I mean."

"Malfoy," She answered immediately. "I've been thinking about it all day, and he's the one that makes the most sense to me."

"How so?"

"Well, for starters, he participates in class quite a bit, definitely more than you." She snickered at Harry, causing him to groan. "He is also pretty smart and is fighting you for the third spot of the group. So, not only does he have a good standing on the usual House Point system, but I'm sure the castle loves what he's doing. He always manages to make Noah and Weasley do stupid things that lose Gryffindor points, and even though he has lost a few on occasion because of it, he's made them lose more than he's lost. He was also the main person that orchestrated the midnight duel _,_ which resulted in Gryffindor losing all 500 points the house had won in the first week, not to mention getting Noah banned from the team, at least for this year. He has managed to suck up his bigotry so that he can have a cordial relationship with the two of us, something that was very wise of him to do. I'm sure the castle agrees. And, he's also the leader of his own faction, which I'm also sure the castle is taking into account. Malfoy is the one that makes the most sense to me, but I think that if his midnight duel gambit had failed, he probably wouldn't have won. It would have been either Greengrass or me. Or maybe even Zabini."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

Hermione grinned at him. " _If_ you had been smart and participated in class, then you would have been up there with me and Greengrass. However, you weren't." She glared at him. "I expect you to learn from your mistakes, Potter. We're winning those study guides next month."

Harry smiled at her in amusement. "Yes ma'am."

Unfortunately, October proved that would be easier said than done, for the study guides seemed to be quite a game changer.

It appeared as if Malfoy knew what the teachers were going to ask even before they asked it. He was always one of the first people to succeed at a new spell or potion, and his homeworks and exams would regularly come back with an almost perfect Outstanding streak. Malfoy had shot from being the fourth highest in the group to fighting for the second spot with Greengrass. Hermione was still managing to beat him, but just barely, and she had to increase her study hours to do so.

It wasn't just Malfoy: all of his group had suddenly risen through the ranks. The rest of his group also improved heavily to the point where Crabbe and Goyle were getting Acceptables on everything. Parkinson rose to be an above average student to the point where she had better scores than Zabini and almost almost as good as Nott's.

Whatever those study guides had, they were certainly effective enough to completely change the standings on the group of Slytherins.

* * *

_**The Library  
October 27, 1991** _

_**5:45 p.m.** _

"Ugh!" Hermione groaned as she closed her book. "This is ridiculous!"

"Hermione Granger saying studying is ridiculous? Now I've seen everything." Harry grinned at her.

"Not studying you prat," She hit him on the shoulder. "This! The whole study guide thing!"

"Somehow I doubt you would say that if you were the one that had the study guides instead of Malfoy - Ow! Stop hitting me!"

Hermione rolled her eyes at him and pulled out another heavy tome from her book bag. "Of course I wouldn't be saying that if I had them. I'm killing myself here just to stay ahead of Malfoy, I'm devoting all of my time to it! Even I want a break from studying! What do those study guides have that make it so easy for Malfoy and his cronies?"

"I mean, they are supposed to be study guides for every subject. I'm sure that they have all the things we're going to see during this year, maybe even a few tips from Snape. It doesn't surprise me that Malfoy is taking advantage of that and using it to try and assure his position as the top of the year." Hermione looked even more determined at that thought and continued poring over her book.

"Look," Harry said, gently grabbing her arm. "You need a break."

"What!? No!"

"Hermione, we've literally been here for the past ten hours without a break. You're going to burn yourself out."

"Harry." The warning in her voice was clear. "I'm fine, I don't need a break."

"Well, what if I need a break?"

"Then go ahead and take it! I'll be right here by the time you're back."

"Hermione, you need to stop-"

"No, Harry, I don't!" She snapped before dropping her quill and rubbing her temple. "Harry, I need to do this. If I don't, we'll lose the study guides for sure. It's my job to secure them so that we can have them next month. You already made the deal with Flint and it's helped out so much... let me do this."

"I didn't make the deal with Flint expecting that you would do all the work. I made the deal because you're my friend. Not because you're Hermione Granger, the most brilliant witch that is the best of our year, but because you're my friend, Hermione. It's not your job to be anything, we agreed to be a team and that's what we are. I'm not letting you do all the work. Besides, I'm pretty smart myself too, you know?" He shot her a cheeky grin.

"Of course I know, Harry. You were the third best of our year before those stupid study guides." She said offhandedly. "But that's not the point. As much as we would want for the castle to recognize us as a team, the personal points are just that. _Personal_. Since I'm still beating you, even if it is only by a small difference and we both have pretty much clean Outstandings, it means it's up to me to get those points. We've already seen this month that the castle has barely given out any points. It's been extremely quiet. I am the one who has to win the study guides.

"I just wish I could be doing more. I don't want you to think you're doing everything."

"Don't you dare think that," She hissed at him. "Right now you're doing amazing, you have almost perfect marks in every class. It's not my fault I just happen to be smarter than you." She smiled sweetly at Harry who mock-scowled at her. "Right now, the best thing you can do to help is study with me. It has been a dull month, but when you're on the Quidditch team next year, you'll shine."

"Oh, I'm joining the Quidditch team, now, am I?"

"You know you want to and you know it would benefit us, so don't try to fool me, Potter. You love flying and you're a Slytherin. I would be surprised if you didn't want to compete against your brother. But until then, it's my job to win this, otherwise Malfoy will keep the top spot for another month."

"Do you really think it will be that close? You are still beating him, you know. Besides, his thing with the Gryffidors stopped working, it's harder for him to rile them up and he's lost plenty of points trying. They're finally catching on to his game. With him losing so many points and with things being pretty normal, I doubt that he'll win again."

"Yes, I know. But I also thought I was beating him last month and look how that turned out. I'm not taking any chances here. We don't know if Malfoy is doing something behind our backs that is giving him extra points. We don't know if he has schemes or plans or anything. I'm not risking it, I don't want to rest until I have those study guides in my hands. Besides, we're having important quizzes this week, I need to be prepared for them."

"Alright, fine. But at least take a small break. We haven't eaten all day. Let's just have a quick lunch so that you don't burn out."

"And after that, you'll let me study for the rest of the day?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Until 8:30," Hermione was about to make a retort but he beat her to it. "We have our session with Gemma tonight."

Hermione sighed. "Fine, a quick lunch and then back to studying."

"Deal." He gave her a smile which she couldn't help but return.

"But I get to take my book," she said before quickly standing up, grabbing her book, and walking towards the exit as fast as she could.

Harry rolled his eyes and shook his head, unable to stop the smile that was slowly forming on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks Proton6 and MasterChaos1 for alpha reading and WH Rutledge for beta reading!
> 
> Alright, I want to talk about House Points. Because there is no way in canon that at the end of the year the average number of House Points per house was around 500. There's simply no way! I tried to do calculations, and those numbers are ridiculously small. Since this story has the aspect of personal points, which are connected with house points, I had to make the numbers work. I tried to do small calculations and limited heavily the amounts of points given by teachers in classes and that was still over 250k.
> 
> Granted, around 50% of those points will be lost, and they will be divided by house and then by year, which is how it makes sense over the course of the full 36 weeks, but still! A lot of points and a big difference from canon, so if anyone has any questions as to why I'm dealing with such a large number of points, this is why. I actually didn't realize how many points were given out until I was forced to do this, which is why I went back and changed the number of points that Noah and Ron lost to 200 each instead of 50.
> 
> Anyways, that's my rant about House Points since they were the main thing that bothered me about this chapter and why it took me so long to write.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Originally, I was going to go through these events in three separate chapters, but I realized it would be a lot of useless filler and I didn't want to drag this out.
> 
> Next chapter is Halloween, and I have some cool plans for it, so get excited!


	8. Halloween

_**PREVIOUSLY ON… HARRY POTTER AND THE HIDDEN THREAT** _

" _Expelliarmus!" Harry heard someone exclaim and right before his eyes, Mulciber's wand flew out of his hand. Harry followed the wand's path and saw Marcus Flint catch it effortlessly. "Alright, that's enough Mulciber, Rosier. Leave them alone." Mulciber didn't move and Flint pointed his wand at him. "Now," He threatened in a whisper._

_Mulciber sneered at the prefect. "You're going to regret this, blood traitor."_

" _I'm sure I will," He drawled sarcastically._

…

" _It's my job to win this, otherwise Malfoy will keep the top spot for another month."_

" _Do you really think it will be that close? You are still beating him."_

" _Yes, I know. But I also thought I was beating him last month and look how that turned out. I'm not taking any chances here. We don't know if Malfoy is doing something behind our backs that is giving him extra points. We don't know if he has schemes or plans or anything. I'm not risking it, I don't want to rest until I have those study guides in my hands."  
_

* * *

_**CHAPTER 8: HALLOWEEN** _

" _Lily, it's_ _ **him**_ _! I'll hold him off. Take Noah and Harry and go!" He started to move past his wife, but she stopped him._

" _NO! James! Please, no!" She pleaded._

" _Lily, just go!" He managed to shake off her grip and rushed downstairs._

_**BAM!** _

_James was thrown back by the force of the explosion and landed on his back before he watched in horror how Lord Voldemort confidently strode into the house._

" _Ah, James," Voldemort stated conceitedly as James stood up. "How are you, old friend?"_

" _I'll be better once you're dead," James growled._

" _It's not polite to threaten your guests, James." Voldemort chided. "And besides, it's not wise to do so when you don't even have a wand."_

 _James' eyes widened as he realized that he had left his wand in the living room earlier in the night. He looked into the living room and sure enough, his wand on the arm of the couch. James glanced back at Voldemort and then once again at the living room._ _ **Fuck it!**_ _He thought just before leaping over the rail of the stairs._

_Unfortunately, Voldemort saw this coming._

_Almost lazily, Voldemort flicked his wand and cast a white jet that hit James mid-air, causing him to crash violently onto the hall floor._

" _I didn't say you could leave!" Voldemort said patronizingly as he smirked down at James's petrified body. "Why don't we go upstairs? It would be rude to keep Lily waiting."_

 _ **DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE!**_ _Was what James wanted to shout, but he was unable to. He wanted to scream, to resist, to fight, to do anything. But he couldn't; he was utterly helpless to do anything but watch as Voldemort levitated him up the stairs to where his wife and sons were hiding._

_**BAM!** _

" _Please," James was forced to watch as Lily pleaded. "Please, not my sons. Take me! Kill me! Please!"_

" _Unfortunately, I can't do that," Voldemort said before slashing his wand, throwing Lily across the room, and pinning her to the wall beside James's petrified body. "I'm afraid I made a promise to not kill you." He shot her a vile grin. "However, that doesn't mean I can't make you watch as I kill your sons and husband."_

" _ **NO!**_ " _Lily gave an agonizing scream before she was silenced by Voldemort._

" _Pettigrew!" James' eyes widened as Voldemort spoke these words and suddenly Peter appeared right in front of him._

 _ **No... Peter was their friend. Sirius betrayed them, not Peter. Peter would never do that,**_ _James thought to himself. All of those thoughts died the moment that Peter Pettigrew shot him and Lily the most vicious smirk he had ever seen on his friend's face.  
_

* * *

_**Master Bedroom, Potter Manor** _

_**October 31, 1991** _

_**3:37 a.m.** _

James sat up in an instant, panting heavily as sweat trickled down his forehead. It was just a dream. Just a nightmare. It had felt so real though. But it had to be a nightmare… right?

Sirius had been the secret-keeper - he was the one who told You-Know-Who about their location. It was because of Sirius that James and his family nearly died. There's no way that Peter was also a Death Eater. Peter was his closest friend and had been for the past ten years. He had been his confidant, the unofficial godfather to his sons (and the official one to his daughter), the only Marauder that had stuck with him after everything.

"James?" Lily asked with concern as she gently grabbed his hand.

No, there was no way Peter was a Death Eater, and there was no way that nightmare was real. He would have remembered something this big. He was getting paranoid, the multiple betrayals he had faced over the years were finally getting to him and making him unreasonable. That's it.

"I'm fine, Lils." He squeezed her hand and shot her a reassuring smile. "It was just a nightmare."

* * *

_**Transfiguration Classroom** _

_**3:50 p.m.** _

If Harry had to choose the day he hated the most out of the whole year, the answer would be extremely easy. He wouldn't even have to think about it: the answer would come to him before the question was even finished.

_Halloween._

At this point, Harry was surprised that Halloween hadn't been changed to _Noah Potter Day_ , and he was sure that if it didn't get changed during Noah's lifetime, it would definitely get changed after he died. Because that was exactly what October 31st was; freaking Noah bloody Potter day.

Ever since he could remember, Halloween was the day where the whole world fawned all over his brother, worshipping the ground he walked on as if he was Merlin re-incarnate. They even had that bloody Victory Ball every Halloween at the Ministry, and Harry was eternally grateful that he couldn't be forced to attend it now that he was at Hogwarts. He couldn't stand all the people genuflecting to Noah, thanking him for his 'services,' and giving him hundreds of gifts that he ended up lording over Harry.

It was absurd! Harry could never understand why the wizarding world would bend over backwards just to worship what was essentially a normal kid. No one knew what happened that night - not even his parents were able to accurately describe it - and yet everyone treated Noah as if he was the Messiah. Even the bloody Minister of Magic did everything he could to talk to Noah and get a picture with him during the stupid balls.

It also didn't help that during _Noah Potter Day_ , Harry Potter suddenly didn't exist. Not that he ever existed to the public - he had met people who were actually unaware that Noah Potter had a twin. He wasn't even mentioned in any of the books that talked about Noah's 'defeat' of Voldemort. Harry didn't care, of course, that he didn't have every stranger on their knees venerating him for something he did as a baby. He knew he was a better wizard than Noah. One day, everyone else was going to realize that - he would make sure of it.

However, Harry would be lying if he said he didn't hate how his parents behaved with Noah during Halloween. They were almost as bad as the other obsessed groupies, spoiling him at every turn, doing every single thing Noah asked of them.

_Mum, I want a chocolate frog._

_Yes, son._

_Dad, I want a new Nimbus 2000._

_Yes, son._

_Mum, I want the whole Zonko's business._

_Yes, son._

_Dad, I want the Minister to come here and lick the dirt off my shoes._

_Yes, son._

Alright, it wasn't _**that**_ bad. But it was close!

Noah became their whole world; it seemed as if Noah would die the next day and they were making sure that he had everything he wanted. Meanwhile, Harry was put aside as nothing more than an afterthought, something that didn't require their attention. He usually spent those days in his room in solitude, reading, or just alone with his thoughts. It was the only day that Seepy actually let him eat in there and even brought him food. And those were the lucky days; on the unlucky days, he would be forced to come downstairs and spend _quality_ time with his _dear_ brother. It was on those days that Harry considered if it would be better to stay at the Manor or join the dementors in Azkaban. And it was during the nights at the Victory Ball that the dementors actually seemed more appealing than his home.

Unfortunately, Hogwarts wasn't the idealistic escape he longed for. Long gone were the days where Noah was hated by every Gryffindor and forced to be a pariah. Once again, Noah Potter was on top, being worshipped by everyone for his _brave_ and _noble_ and _incredible_ actions of sleeping in a dirty diaper while some dark wanker messed up a spell, blew himself up, and gave him a scar. All the boys were cheering him on and the girls were fluttering their eyelashes at him, some even giving him kisses on the cheek to show their gratitude.

The only thing between Noah and hundreds of betrothal contracts was the fact that the Potters no longer participated in such a barbaric tradition. _Maybe I should change that when I become the Head of House Potter, have Noah deal with the hundreds of requests until he goes insane and is forced to spend the rest of his life in the permanent ward of St Mungo's. Now that's something to consider_. A smile crossed his features as he was lost in his daydream.

"Mister Potter," Professor McGonagall broke him out of his musings, her disapproval clear in the way her lips had completely disappeared. "I'm happy to see that the transfiguration alphabet is incredibly amusing to you."

"What can I say, Professor? Transfiguration is my passion." Harry deadpanned.

"Since you are so _passionate_ about it, you wouldn't mind having to write eighteen inches on the importance of the transfiguration alphabet and how it can be applied in the everyday life?"

"Eighteen inches? Sure." He shrugged.

McGonagall didn't seem amused. "Make that twenty-four, Potter. By Monday."

"Well, at least now I have plans for the weekend." He gave her a bitter smile before Hermione elbowed him in the ribs roughly.

Harry grunted in pain and looked at Hermione for an explanation, but she just stared ahead as if nothing had happened while McGonagall continued her lesson. As soon as the bell rang, Hermione immediately dragged him out of the classroom before anyone else could even pack their stuff.

"What is wrong with you today?" She hissed at him as they walked through the hallways. "You've barely paid attention, and you haven't even opened your book bag all day. Every time a teacher points this out or asks you a question, you've been disrespectful and you haven't done any of the classwork! And now, you have extra Herbology and Transfiguration homework for the weekend because you're acting like a stupid Gryffindor!"

"Hermione, just drop this. I'm fine," He said harshly.

Hermione stopped in her tracks and forced him to stay with her. "Tell me what's wrong, Harry," She said softly.

"Nothing, I'm fine."

She huffed and let go of his arm. "Fine, if that's how you want to play it, then so be it." She started walking ahead without him. "Just don't expect me to help you until you start acting like yourself instead of like your brother."

Harry scoffed but let her walk ahead. The last thing he wanted right now was to take out his problems on his best friend while in the heat of the moment. He knew that she was right and that he needed to get his head out of his arse, but the only thing he wanted to do right now was to lock himself up somewhere and sulk. Harry sighed. Dealing with an angry Hermione wouldn't help at all, but at this point, he would just have to suck it up until the end of the day.

When he sensed that Hermione was far enough away, he continued walking towards the Charms classroom, only to nearly bump into Noah and Ron just before he arrived. The two were talking conspiratorially before they saw him.

"What do you want, snake?" Ron spat.

"Just going to class, Ronniekins," Harry answered lightly. "Shouldn't you two be doing the same?"

Both glared at him before walking ahead, but not before Noah roughly bumped his shoulder as he made his way past Harry.

He watched as the two turned the corner with narrowed eyes. Noah and Ron were as subtle as a Hippogriff inside a broom closet, so it was blatantly obvious that they were hiding something. While Harry really didn't want to deal with his brother today, he couldn't deny that he was way too interested in whatever they were talking about to let this go. He quietly and quickly followed them around the corner only to see the two of them enter the first empty classroom in the hallway. Pressing his ear to the door, he began listening in.

"Just going to class, Ronniekins," Noah spat. "Merlin, I hate him! He's so bloody full of himself it's a wonder his head fits in the Great Hall."

"It sucks that we can't bloody do anything to him. Stupid Fred and George! Who do they think they are? Threatening to hold the map hostage if we retaliate!"

"I swear, as soon as we're out of school and he doesn't have his snakes with him we'll make him pay. The coward will probably be too scared to do anything."

"That's still months away!"

"Just a month and a half," Noah said, slightly bitter. "Anyways, what did Fred and George tell you? How did last night go?"

"It didn't work," Ron said glumly. "Apparently the Cerberus is magic resistant so the spells did nothing to it."

_A Cerberus!? What the bloody hell are Noah and Ron doing that they have to deal with a Cerberus!?_

"Do they have any other ideas? We need to get past it to see what's under the trapdoor!"

_Trapdoor, what trapdoor?_

"They said they have a couple of backup plans but it's going to take a while. They're going to work on it during the winter break which means that by January we should be able to see if they work."

"I just really want to know what's down there," Noah grumbled to himself. "What do you think Dumbledore's hiding?"

"Gold, lots of it. I'm sure."

"Really? But why do you think he's hiding it here instead of putting it in Gringotts?"

"Maybe he doesn't trust Gringotts anymore. Didn't you hear about the break-in?"

"There was a break-in at Gringotts?" Noah asked incredulously.

"Yeah. Dad told me it happened at the end of July. Apparently, the whole Ministry went mad about it, it's the first time someone's broken in at Gringotts and manage to escape. The Ministry wanted to help with the investigation but dad told me the goblins weren't letting them. Didn't your dad tell you? I think he would be one of the ones in the investigation, given how he's an Auror and all."

"Dad doesn't like to talk about work," Noah said dejectedly. "I've tried to get him to tell me all of his cool stories about him being an Auror and getting the bad guys but he always shuts me down. For some reason, he doesn't want to tell anyone about work, not even Mum."

"Oh -" Ron said dumbly. "Well, what do you think is down there?"

"I bet it's some extremely powerful magical artifact." Noah gushed.

Harry had heard enough by this point. He stepped back and began walking away before either Gryffindor decided to leave the room and caught him. His mind was still reeling from everything that he had heard.

_So Noah and Ron are working with the twins, and they have a map of some sort. I'll have to research that, it sounds like something extremely useful. Also, what's with Fred and George telling them to leave me alone - that doesn't make any sense. Anyways, more of a reason for me to stay at Hogwarts during the holidays, I really don't want to spend them with Noah and Ron being their usual selves. But what is this trapdoor? And how does a Cerberus come into play? It couldn't be here at Hogwarts… right? You'd have to be brain-dead to think that putting a Cerberus in a school full of kids could be a good idea. But based on how Noah and Ron were talking, I can't think of another option. So where is it? What is it hiding?_

Harry paused.

_No. Surely Dumbledore wouldn't put a freaking Cerberus inside the school and then tell everyone where it is!? Who am I kidding? Of course, he would! Why the bloody hell would he not!?_

He was getting a headache just thinking about this. He needed more time to process everything, he needed to think, to plan.

 _Should I try to get past the Cerberus? Noah's probably right, Dumbledore is most likely hiding a powerful magical artifact there. I'll need to research all of Dumbledore's accomplishments and contributions and see if it's worth it. I also need to research more about Cerberi to see if there's any way I can get past them. For now, I think it would be best to just keep tabs on those four and see what they're doing. As much as I_ _ **love**_ _my_ _ **dear**_ _brother, it's probably best I make sure the idiot doesn't get himself killed. Who knows, if he did my parents will probably resent me for it._

Harry scoffed at those thoughts and how true they probably were before picking up the pace. He was about to be late for class, something he knew would make Hermione even angrier than she was at the moment.

_Should I tell her about this? Nope, I'd like to live until at least 120, and telling Hermione I'm considering trying to get past a Cerberus is the surest way for her to kill me. What was I thinking? "Oh, hey, Hermione? Studying? I can't today, I'm going to try and get past a Cerberus so that I can enter a trapdoor that is, presumably, at its feet. I'll see you at dinner, though." Halloween really must be driving me mental if I ever thought that was a good idea.  
_

* * *

_**Ministry Ballroom  
9:10 p.m.** _

James watched as the Minister walked away and barely managed not to scowl. As much as he hated the Victory Ball it was expected of him to appear every year with a pleased smile on his face when what he really wanted to do was hole himself inside his house with his wife in his arms and make sure his children were safe and that Noah was happy. With everything that will end up happening, that's the least he could do for his son.

Halloween always brought him bad memories, which was no surprise really, given how close he had come to losing everything on that fateful night. It was the night that his sons and wife were nearly murdered by Voldemort, the day that he had discovered Sirius's betrayal. Even the other three Halloweens after Hogwarts when the war was at its highest point were filled with death, betrayal, and misery.

What he wouldn't give to go back in time. He could change so much, prevent many of his mistakes, save his fallen friends.

Halloween shouldn't be a day of celebration, it should be a day of mourning.

"There you are," James heard someone exclaim brightly before a hand slapped him on the arm. "James, old friend. It's been too long."

James smiled despite himself. "It has indeed," He turned around and looked at his best friend. "How've you been, Peter? Work isn't too boring, I hope?"

Peter Pettigrew had changed quite a bit over the years. Long gone was the chubby, pale boy who followed the other three Marauders around like a lost puppy. He had aged like a fine wine, standing proudly with a lean, slightly muscular body, and a tanned complexion. It was clear that he took good care of himself and he didn't have to look around to know that a few witches were keeping their eyes on him.

Peter threw his head back and laughed. "Oh, you know. The usual. Some of us have to do the tedious work so that the richy rich can live as happily as you do." Peter gave him a genuine smile before bringing him in for a hug. "It's good to see you, old friend."

"It's good to see you too. How long has it been? Almost three months?"

"Four months" Peter replied as he stepped back from him and led them towards the bar where the drinks were being served.

"Oh, that's right! Just before you went on your yearly trip to Mexico? How was it?"

"The usual," He replied vaguely before ordering drinks for the two of them.

"Did you get lucky?" James bumped his shoulder and waggled his eyebrows.

"You know what they say, James. What happens in Cancun stays in Cancun." He smirked at him.

"Oh, come on! You can't just tease me like that and leave me in the dark!" James mock-glared at Peter. "Spill, Pettigrew, or I'll make up some charges to arrest you and interrogate you with Veritaserum." He kept the stern facade for a couple of moments before dropping it and laughing.

"I'm not one to kiss and tell, James."

"Yeah, right. I'm sure it didn't go past a few kisses. Come on, at least tell me how many."

"Guess."

"Alright, one." Peter shook his head. "Two."

"Nope."

"Four?"

"A little higher."

"Five!?" Peter smirked but said nothing else. "Merlin, Peter! You're worse than a teenager!"

"It's just a bit of fun, James." Peter waved him off. "It's not like I'm hurting anyone. Well," He added impishly. "Not unless they want me to."

Both friends laughed at that before James turned serious. "How long do you plan on doing this? The whole playboy thing you've been doing for the past eight years? You know I hate to be the one to spoil the fun, but when are you thinking of settling down? Find a Mrs Pettigrew, have a couple of kids, and spoil them rotten."

"I don't know." He shrugged. "The whole perfect wife, perfect kids, perfect life - it's your gig. That life is not really for me. While you like to live in the spotlight, I'm happy just being under the radar. I may not be living as lavishly as you are but I'm fine with what I have."

"That's bullshit, and you know it! You're wasting your talents being an obliviator! You've been offered promotions more times than I can count! You could even be an Auror if you wanted to!" James sighed. "Look, Peter. I'm not going to tell you how to live your life, Merlin knows I've made more than a few mistakes in mine. Just remember who it was that was telling us to grow up back when we were at Hogwarts."

Peter looked reluctant for a couple of seconds before relenting. "Fine, fine. I'll think it over. I promise."

"That's all I ask." James took another sip of his glass. "Have you seen your goddaughter? I know she's been missing you."

"Yeah, I was there with her and Lily just before I found you."

"You didn't happen to give Jas another one of your infamous 'I'm sorry I haven't seen you in months' gifts, now would you?" James raised his eyebrows at him.

"Of course I did, James. How else would I win her affection." Peter chuckled a little at that. "Where are the other two menaces? I haven't seen them tonight."

"Well, Noah got himself caught out in the castle during midnight the same day McGonagall, allowed him to play on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team…"

"Really?" Peter breathed out. "But he's just a first-year and - oh," He started sniggering. "Yeah, McGonagall would not be pleased. Where did you bury the body? I'd like to pay my respects to him tomorrow."

"No, nothing like that." James laughed. "I'm sure it was close but thankfully he's still in one piece. In the end, McGonagall removed his permission to play and basically removed all of the points Gryffindor had amassed during the first week and a half."

"Oh, dear."

"Yeah, I'm sure he wasn't the most popular kid there for a while. Remember when we lost ten thousand points because of our little prank at those Slytherins and everyone hated us for the rest of the year?"

"Little prank?" Peter asked seriously. "Are you talking about when we snuck into the Slytherin common room during midnight while using Polyjuice before stupefying everyone and changing the dorm rooms and the common room so that they looked like the ones from Gryffindor tower, changed the students' robes so that they were wearing the Gryffindor color and insignia, and used those complex locking spells we created to lock the Slytherins in right after warding the inside of each dormitory so that no one - not even house-elves - could apparate inside?"

"Yeah," James smirked. "Like I said. Little prank."

"James, they were locked inside for over a day! Dumbledore had to go himself so that he could get them out because no other teacher could!"

"It wasn't a big deal, okay." James waved him off. "Besides, Dumbledore got them out in the end. No harm, no foul. It was a harmless prank."

Peter mumbled something that James couldn't catch before he looked at him. "So I assume McGonagall didn't give him permission to come here?"

"Nope, she's still pissed at him. It won't last long though, I'm sure that by next year he'll be back on the team. We both know how much McGonagall wants Gryffindor to win."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. What about Harry? Why isn't he here?"

James' face turned serious and he sighed. "Harry and I aren't on the best terms right now. Lils and I sent him a letter three days ago asking if he wanted to come and he declined, though he didn't forget to remind us that there was no way that either I or Lily could legally force him to leave the school if he didn't want to."

"I take it that not everything is great between the two of you?"

"No. I just didn't realize how distanced the two of us were until he got sorted into Slytherin. From what I can tell, he wants nothing to do with me, Lily, or even Noah right now."

"I'm sure everything will turn out fine," Peter reassured him. "You know how kids are, he'll come around." He paused and studied his face. "How are you doing? I know that Halloweens are tough on you and Lily."

"Eh," James shrugged almost helplessly. "I'm hanging on. It's the usual really. I'm used to it. Although…" He trailed off.

"What is it? You know you can tell me anything, right?"

"I know, I know. It's just… I had a nightmare. It was the usual really, the one I always have around these days. Except that the end was different. For some reason, V-V- You-Know-Who… he said your name?"

"My name?" Peter choked out.

"Yeah. He called out to you and you appeared by his side as if you were his follower. It's stupid, I know, but it felt so real, it threw me for a loop. I dunno, I think it was just the stress, you know? With it being Halloween and the stress of the job, and after everything with… well, with _him_ , I think the paranoia is finally getting to me. Maybe I should go see a mind healer."

"Yeah," Peter said, looking a little startled which surprised James but he shrugged it off as concern from his friend. "Yeah, I think you should go see a mind healer. It's completely normal, James. Even I have monthly meetings with one. It just helps with everything, if you're feeling stressed or overwhelmed. You know that Lily and I are here and will support you no matter what, right?"

"Of course I know, Peter." James smiled at his best friend. "Thank you. After everything that happened you're the only one, excluding Lily, who stayed by my side. Thank you, Peter."

"Don't mention it, James." Peter mirrored his expression. "Anything for a friend."

* * *

_**Great Hall** _

_**9:40 p.m.** _

Harry sat glumly in the Great Hall beside Hermione as he played with his dessert. Hermione had been giving him the cold shoulder ever since their argument in the hallways and that didn't seem to be stopping anytime soon. All the other Slytherins seemed happy to just let him bask in his misery.

As he looked around, his eyes lingered on the head table. It was emptier than usual, with Dumbledore, McGonagall, Flitwick, and Sprout attending the Victory Ball, it looked incomplete. And yet, since it was the Halloween feast they couldn't leave on their own, instead, they would have to leave as a house with the prefects leading them. Thankfully the wait wasn't long now as curfew was nearing, he would finally get to be alone after being forced to spend all day surrounded by his peers.

Exactly ten minutes before curfew Snape dismissed all of them and instructed the prefects to make sure that there was no student left outside before he walked away through the side door that led towards the staff's living quarters.

The prefects gathered the students before leading them out of the Great Hall, with the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs going right while the Slytherins and Ravenclaws headed left. Soon enough the Ravenclaws went upstairs towards their tower while the Slytherins continued on the trail towards the dungeons.

As they were nearing the common room, the corridor was suddenly flooded with a horrible smell and he wasn't the only one as pretty much every Slytherin groaned in disgust.

"Ugh! Who let one rip?"

"It was Montague, his farts always smell like this."

"Was not, it was probably you, Bletchley. Merlin knows your farts are worse than ten-day-old corpses."

"You're all disgusting." A fourth-year girl cried out. "Whoever did this I'm hexing you so - ugh" She was cut off and suddenly Harry found out why as he crashed against the second year who was in front of him.

Harry tried to look ahead to see why everyone suddenly had stopped only to freeze. Right on the other side of the hallway, there were two, twelve-foot mountain trolls, each with what looked like giant wooden clubs.

" _ **RUN!**_ " Parkinson suddenly screeched, displaying the true self-preservation of a Slytherin by getting the attention of the two trolls.

Before he knew it, Harry was being trampled by the dozens of Slytherins who were trying to escape the two trolls who were walking towards them in what Harry assumed would be the equivalent of a troll's power-walk.

He felt someone grab his arm and roughly pull him. "Come on, Harry!" He heard Hermione scream as she dragged him behind her while the other students were fighting each other to get ahead. Harry began running but the two of them were getting pushed back by the other older students before one of them grabbed Harry from the back and pushed him forwards.

"Don't you dare die on me, Potter!" Flint snarled as they continued running. "You still owe me that favour."

Harry turned to look back to see how close the trolls were behind them before his heart suddenly skipped a beat. For Harry had seen that Theodore Nott had not moved at all, instead, he just stood there completely paralyzed as the other trolls went straight towards him.

"Stop! We need to go back!" Harry screamed.

"NO!" Both Flint and Hermione snapped and tightened their grip on him.

 _Bloody hell, why did I have to be James freaking Potter's son!_ Harry mentally screamed at himself before suddenly stopping, shaking both Flint and Hermione off, and dashing towards Nott.

"Harry!" He heard Hermione cry out to him but he didn't stop or look back, his mind solely focused on reaching Nott before the trolls did. He ran faster than he'd ever run before and he could feel his head pulsating at the rhythm of his thundering heartbeat. He managed to reach him barely before one of the trolls did and he immediately grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the way.

"Come on!" He shouted and at that moment, the troll had slammed his club right where Nott had been standing. Harry turned around and started pulling the Slytherin boy behind him only to see Hermione and Flint running towards him.

Flint launched a series of spells at the trolls, managing to slow their approach by a little but clearly not doing much damage as Harry and Nott ran towards the two of them.

"We have to go!" Hermione shrieked as she took hold of Harry's arm with both hands.

"You three, run ahead! I'll try to slow them down!" Flint commanded but taking one look at the trolls it was obvious the spells were barely doing anything and wouldn't slow them down much.

"Oh, don't worry." A vile voice called out, giving Harry chills. "You're not going anywhere." Harry's head snapped towards the end of the Hall where he saw Rosier, Mulciber, and two other sixth years flanking them.

_It had to be bloody Halloween, didn't it? Nothing can go bloody right on this bloody day!_

"You know, Mulciber, you're becoming a big annoyance lately," Flint remarked bitterly as he continued sending a barrage of spells against the trolls while at the same time slowly backing up and forcing them to do the same.

"I'm sure that'll stop when you're dead. Reducto!" He cried out and Flint barely managed to duck out of the way before the curse flew past where his head had been.

"You three deal with them! I'll distract the trolls!" Flint commanded.

"Sure, Flint! Anything else? Three first-years against four sixth-years! Why not put us up against a group of Death Eaters instead!" Harry snapped at Flint before quickly pointing his wand towards Rosier. "Expelliarmus!" He shouted but the older boy easily managed to block the spell.

"Do you want to trade, Potter!" Flint bit back and when Harry didn't respond he pointed his wand at himself before suddenly two copies of him ran out of his body and towards each troll, running around them in circles and sending out sparks at them to distract them. "I won't be able to hold this for long!" He shouted as he continued launching more spells at the trolls.

Harry watched in amazement before he was suddenly pulled by Hermione out of the way of an incoming spell. "Right," Harry said to himself. "Bad guys. Stupefy! Expelliarmus! Petrificus Totalus! Stupefy!" Harry, Hermione, and Nott continued sending a flurry of spells at them but the older students blocked them with ease as they laughed cruelly while slowly walking towards them.

"Aw, the firstie blood traitor and his mudblood know a couple of spells." The sixth-year girl flanking Rosier mocked. "How adorable."

"Isn't it? They think just because they've been studying defensive spells that they can beat us." All the older students laughed as they continued moving forward while blocking everything the three of them were sending

"Why are you standing with the blood traitors and mudblood filth, Nott?" Rosier enquired. "You come from a noble family that's always been on the right side, why are you fighting with them? Join us and we'll let you live."

"Over my dead body!" Nott shouted without hesitation.

"Well," The other sixth year drawled. "Since you asked nicely. Avada Kedavra!"

A flash of green light flew over to Nott from the boy's wand and Harry quickly grabbed Nott and threw them both flat to the ground, just managing to avoid the spell that flew past them and hit one of the trolls on the leg. As soon as it did, the creature dropped backwards, crashing on the ground with a loud noise that Harry was sure could be heard all throughout the castle.

Harry immediately got to his feet and continued sending a barrage of stunning and disarming charms alongside Hermione, not wanting to give the others time to send another spell at them. It wasn't more than a couple of seconds before Harry's eyes widened as another troll turned the corner and started walking towards the oblivious sixth years.

"Stupefy!" Harry exclaimed, aiming his wand not at the older Slytherins, but at the troll's head. The spell hit its mark and did exactly what Harry wanted it to, it riled the troll up and caused it to speed up his pace.

"Oi, Potter! You missed!" Mulciber and the others laughed without stopping the constant shield charms.

"I have to say, Mulciber. It was a bit embarrassing that a first-year beat you all those weeks ago. Now it's going to be even more embarrassing that it happened for a second time." Harry goaded.

"Filthy blood-traitor! Confringo!"

"Protego!" Both Harry and Hermione shouted in unison, creating a shield over them that blocked the spell just before it was supposed to hit Harry. However, their shield was still weak so when the spell hit it, it exploded, sending Harry and Hermione backwards to land roughly on their backs.

"Any last words, Mudblood?" Rosier sneered at Hermione.

"Yeah," She smirked at them. "I hope that hurts."

"Wha-" Rosier was cut-off when he and the girl beside him were suddenly flung across the hallway when the troll swung its club at them.

The other two Slytherins quickly turned to the troll and Harry, Hermione, and Nott used this as their chance.

" _ **EXPELLIARMUS!**_ " The three of them exclaimed and incidentally, the three of them had their wands trained on Mulciber. Almost in unison, the three spells hit the boy sending him flying before he crashed against the wall with multiple audible cracks that made the three-first years wince.

"A-Avada Kedavra!" The last boy stammered at the troll and once again, a flash of green light left his wand and hit the troll, who, unfortunately for the sixth year, fell forwards on top of the boy. He gave out an agonizing scream of pain only to fall silent seconds later.

Harry, Hermione, and Nott took a moment to catch their breath before their peaceful moment was interrupted. "Guys! A hand here!" Flint shouted at them and Harry shot up back in alarm. The clones were now gone and the last troll was zeroing in on Flint.

"Use the spell the other boy used!" Harry shouted at Flint.

"Are you kidding!? I'm not using an unforgivable! The ministry doesn't care if you use it for self-defense or to save your own life against something like a troll, they send you to Azkaban for life either way!"

"WELL THEN WHAT CAN WE DO!?" Harry exclaimed before helping Flint out by sending a series of spells at the troll.

"THE CLUB!" Hermione suddenly shouted before aiming her wand at the object. "Wingardium Leviosa!" Hermione levitated the spell out of the troll's hand and raised it onto the roof before letting it drop on its head. It crashed with a loud crack, the troll started staggering aimlessly before falling on its back.

The resounding boom was met with a complete silence before suddenly Flint chuckled. The chuckle quickly turned into a full out howl of laughter from the fifth year. "Oh, Granger. You're brilliant. So simple but brilliant!" He laughed even harder at that. "Next time you deal with the trolls."

"I'd rather there not be a next time." Hermione huffed before dropping to the ground and sitting with her back to the wall and her legs extended out. Harry and Nott quickly sat beside her, not being able to stand on their feet anymore.

"You never know." Flint shrugged, still chuckling as he made his way to the other Slytherins. He crouched and pointed his wand at their temple before whispering a spell. He repeated the process with the other three before slumping down on the ground and panting heavily.

"What did you do?" Harry asked.

"That? Oh, that was just a spell from the Flint Grimoire. Let's just say it'll help remind them not to mess with me or either of you two if they want to keep breathing by the end of the year."

"And the other spell? The one you used to make copies of yourself?"

"That's an extremely advanced NEWT level spell that you certainly aren't ready for. I barely managed to cast it today." Flint paused before speaking sternly. "We'll talk about this later. Right now, let's just wait for the teachers to get here and let me do all the talking."

The three-first years nodded and it didn't take more than a minute before a group of teachers appeared and stared at the chaos with wide-eyes. Snape and Quirrell analyzed the trolls while two other teachers Harry didn't recognize but had seen around the castle checked on the other Slytherins. After they were done, Snape and Quirrell strode towards them while the other teachers levitated the older Slytherin students towards the infirmary.

"Explain," Snape said coldly, eyeing Harry.

"Well, sir." Flint began, but Snape still held his gaze onto Harry. "We were walking back to our common room but we saw two trolls standing at the other end of the hallway. Unfortunately, a first-year girl screamed and gathered the attention of the trolls. After that, it was chaos. Everyone started running back towards the Great Hall and most managed to get away, but a third troll closed the exit for the eight of us. We had to fight the trolls but they got Mulciber, Rosier, Carrow, and Avery."

Snape turned towards Flint and narrowed his eyes. "And what about the trolls, two of them are dead. Which one of you used the killing curse on them?"

"Severus, surely you're not suggesting -"

"Quirrell, we both have seen the effects of the killing curse. Even you can't deny that they were used on the trolls."

"That would be Avery, Professor," Flint replied silkily. "The trolls had gotten the other three and he panicked, he managed to cast two killing curses at the two trolls but the third one got him before he could cast the third one."

"And how did you stop the third troll?"

"That was Granger, sir. While Potter, Nott, and I were trying to slow it down with magic. Granger realized that while trolls are extremely magic resistant, they are still susceptible to physical blows. Especially those to the head. She levitated its club and dropped it on its head."

"That was a brilliant assessment, Miss Granger." Quirrell complimented a now blushing Hermione. "And you did it while you were in a stressful situation. 100 points to Slytherin, Miss Granger. Well done!"

"Thank you, sir." She mumbled with a shy smile.

"You are to go to the common room, I'll send the other Slytherins there after we clean this mess and secure the castle," Snape instructed and without waiting for an answer, he strode away with Quirrell behind him.

"You heard him," Flint grunted as he stood up. "Let's go." Harry, Hermione, and Nott got up and followed Flint. As they entered the common room it was clear that Hermione was still keen on giving him the cold shoulder as she strode past him without even looking at him and walked towards the girl's staircase.

Harry shrugged internally, a little saddened by the fact, but sat down on the couches to just relax. He noticed that Nott sat on the couch opposite him but didn't pay him any attention.

"I- I was going to die." Nott croaked out so quietly after a couple of minutes that Harry questioned if it was his imagination. "I would have died but you saved me." He turned to him. "Why?"

"I don't know," Harry shrugged. "I just did. It was nothing."

"No. It wasn't nothing." Nott steeled himself. "I owe you a life debt."

Not knowing how to respond Harry just stayed quiet for a couple of moments before looking back at Nott. "I don't think we ever introduced each other properly. I'm Harry Potter, but you can call me Harry." He finished with a smile.

Nott studied him carefully before his face relaxed slightly. "Alright, Harry. I'm Theodore Nott, but you can call me Theo."

"Does that mean I can't call you Theodore?" Harry said with mock seriousness and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Maybe you should just call me Nott," Theo grumbled before both boys chuckled.

It was less than ten minutes before the rest of the Slytherins strode into the common room and it quickly became chaos with everyone talking loudly about what happened. Not really wanting to deal with the crowd of people for the rest of the day, Harry stood up and gave an imperceptible nod to Theo before he started walking towards the boys' staircase. Unfortunately, he was intercepted by Parkinson's brother who harshly grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"I've had a pretty crappy day, Parkinson, so trust me when I tell you that I am not in the mood for games."

"Where are Mulciber and the others, Potter?" He snarled at him.

"If you're a good boy and ask nicely tomorrow, then I'll consider telling you. Right now, go bother one of your bigoted lackeys and leave me alone."

In a second, Parkinson dropped his arm, and instead, he roughly pushed Harry towards the wall where he held him with his wand to Harry's neck. "What did you do to them." He growled.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Flint warned as he placed his wand on the back of Parkinson's neck.

Suddenly, almost twenty wands were in the air, each aimed at a different person to the point where Harry didn't know who was supposed to be his allies and who were his enemies. The tension in the dead quiet common room was so thick that it could be cut with a knife. Harry considered reaching for his wand on his easily accessible holster but decided against it. If a spell were to be launched the whole common room would be in mayhem. Especially considering that some of the students didn't seem hesitant to use unforgivables.

"You want to know what happened to your bigoted friends?" Harry whispered, capturing everyone's attention. "The four idiots had the brilliant idea of threatening the lives of me and my friends by dueling us while the trolls tried to kill us from the other side. You are making the exact same mistake as they did, they messed with me and if you don't lower your wand you're going to end up just like them. In the infirmary fighting for their lives." Harry slowly raised his arm and gripped the fourth year's wrist. "I. Dare. You." He growled. "Please, give me a reason. Just one. Do your worst, Parkinson. But you better know; if you do, you better make sure I'm dead because if you take a shot at me and I step out of here alive I swear on my life that I will _**burn you and your whole family to the ground!**_ " Harry looked around with satisfaction as he could tell that there was not a single person who didn't believe he would fulfill that threat. He waited for a moment to see if someone was actually going to do something but when nothing happened he continued. "Nothing?" He scoffed mockingly. "Good. Maybe you're not as much of an idiot as I thought."

"You're going to regret this, Potter," Parkinson whispered threateningly.

"Don't make threats you can't keep, Parkinson. It makes you look like an idiot. So why don't you save face and just drop it before you embarrass yourself and your friends more." Parkinson's reluctance was obvious for a couple of moments where he hesitated before he finally dropped it and slowly everyone followed. When every wand was now lowered, Parkinson scoffed at him before leaving and soon enough more murmurs started around the common room.

When no one was looking at him, Harry let out a breath he didn't know he was holding before he made his way towards Flint who was finishing talking to his friends.

"You crazy son of a bitch!" Flint whispered as he slapped his back. "You're full of surprises aren't you, Potter?" Harry chuckled but didn't really know what to say. "You should take your own advice though, Potter. One of these days someone isn't going to stand down and you will have to actually live up to your threats because if you don't, people will stop taking them seriously and you'll be a dead man walking."

"I know, I know. I'm still working on that." Harry replied vaguely before turning serious. "Thank you, Flint. For backing me up here and helping me out earlier."

"It's nothing, Potter. Don't mention it. What are allies for?" He shrugged.

"Yeah." Harry extended his hand out. "Allies?"

Flint snorted but took it nonetheless. "We've been allies for the past month and a half, Potter. At least you're finally catching up."

"So does that mean I can call you Marcus?" Harry asked impishly.

"Only if you want to suffer a horrible death. The only one who gets to call me Marcus is Gemma, Potter. So don't get any ideas."

"Fine, fine." Harry rolled his eyes.

"You should go to sleep now. It's been a long day for all of us." Flint said in a way that sounded _too_ uninterested.

"Caring about my well-being, Flint? Keep acting like that and I might think you actually like me." Harry said mirthfully.

"I'm telling you to go to sleep because tomorrow I'll be taking over Higgs' class and I don't want you to be falling asleep while I do." Harry raised a curious eyebrow at him. "Today's events have shown us that we need to speed up your Defence lessons and start seeing more offensive spells." Flint leaned in and whispered at him. "We may have won today but it was sheer dumb luck, Potter. We both know it. Next time, we won't be so lucky so we have to train harder."

"Alright," Harry nodded. "I'll tell Hermione tomorrow." Harry paused for a second. "I know you said that you wouldn't be teaching any more people but -"

"No!" Flint said with a tone that brokered no argument.

"Look, I'm testing out the waters with Nott to see if he would be a good ally. Every ally won is a good ally, Flint. You know that as well as I do. Just think about it. Please."

"Alright, fine," Flint grumbled. "I'll _think_ about it but if he joins it won't be for a while where you will make sure you actually trust him _**and**_ I expect him to be able to keep up with the lessons as good as you and Granger have been."

"Deal!" Harry said quickly before Flint could back out and immediately headed towards his dormitory, leaving a grumbling Flint standing there.

Harry smiled to himself. All in all, maybe this Halloween wasn't as bad.

* * *

_**Headmaster's Office** _

_**11:25 p.m.** _

"You called me, Headmaster?" Snape asked as he entered Dumbledore's Office.

"Good evening, Severus," Dumbledore said gently as he invited the Potions Master to take a seat. "You were missed today at the Victory Ball."

"I'm not sure my appearance would have been appreciated, given my _background_ , Headmaster," Snape repeated the answer he always gave. Dumbledore looked like he was going to say something but Snape beat him to it. "But I'm sure you didn't ask me here to talk about that. You want to know about the _incident_?"

Dumbledore sighed heavily. "Yes, please, Severus. What happened?"

"From what we've gathered. A group of six mountain trolls entered the castle through the front door while the Halloween feast was happening. They roamed the castle and happened to end up near the Ravenclaw and Slytherin common rooms by the time they were seen. We were alerted about the trolls near Ravenclaw tower so all the teachers went there first and it wasn't until the three trolls there were dealt with that we were alerted about the other three trolls near the dungeons. By the time we got there, Potter, Granger, Nott, and Flint had dealt with them after Carrow, Avery, Rosier, and Mulciber were extremely injured. Thankfully, they will all live and they were the only ones injured."

"Do you know how they dealt with them?" Dumbledore asked.

"Flint gave me a version of what happened but knowing the Slytherins as I do, it was most likely a modified version of events. However, I think the story is somewhat accurate. The eight were surrounded by the three trolls and after Carrow, Mulciber, and Rosier were taken out by them, Avery panicked and used the killing curse on two trolls before the third one got him. After that, Miss Granger took care of the third troll by knocking it out with its own club."

"Yes, it seems like a sensible story although I'm sure that something else happened there." Dumbledore scratched his beard while deep in thought. "This is very serious, Severus. Young Avery apparently already knows how to use unforgivable curses." Dumbledore thought to himself for almost a minute before he finally spoke. "Since Avery seems to have used the spell in self-defense and possibly saved lives by doing it, I won't tell Amelia about this in my report. _However_ , I expect you to keep an eye on him and his friends. I won't have people using unforgivables inside my school, Severus. Not one." Dumbledore threatened and Snape nodded in agreement. "Do you still have your contacts with the previous Death Eaters?" He asked.

"Of course I do," Snape said, slightly irritated. "I would be a pathetic excuse for a spy if I didn't."

"I want you to send a letter to Avery Sr and tell him what happened here today. Tell him that you managed to hide the fact that his son used an unforgivable from me but that he might not be so lucky next time. Advise him that unless he wants a full investigation by the DMLE, no charges should be pressed and the whole thing should be considered an unfortunate accident. Also, advise him that under no circumstance should Avery use an unforgivable since I'm extremely against them. If Avery is smart, he and his allies won't press charges against the school and we can hopefully avoid the DMLE coming here to investigate. However, if anyone does press charges we'll have to move the stone and I'll be required to tell Amelia about the unforgivable." Snape nodded as he internally grumbled at the fact that he would have more things to do tonight. Dumbledore thought for a second before looking up at him. "Ravenclaw and Slytherin common rooms… they are on the other side of the castle from the third-floor corridor. Did you-"

"Went to make sure nobody tried to steal the stone? Of course," Snape drawled. "I sensed this was a trap from the beginning. However, when I arrived there was no one there, I made sure to also check for magical means of concealment. I checked on Fluffy and stayed there for a couple of minutes but no one ever stepped close. After that, I went to help the other Professors deal with the trolls."

"Hmmm…" Dumbledore trailed off. "It's possible that this was just a series of unfortunate events. However, we should be more alert. This could have been our enemy testing our reaction times and to see how we would act during an emergency. I also don't think it's a coincidence this attack happened when I was out of the school. We need to keep both eyes open, Severus."

"Indeed." He agreed. "Are you sure that someone is after the stone? And that if they are, they are inside the castle?" Snape questioned.

"I am sure of it, Severus. The vault that was broken into was the one where I kept the stone this summer. Whether the person is inside the castle or not, I am not sure. However, I am positive someone will try to steal the stone before the end of the year comes, which is why it's imperative that the DMLE not come here. This scheme is the perfect opportunity to capture Voldemort and question him about his plans and how he achieved immortality. It's taken several years of planning but if we succeed, we might reduce the threat of Voldemort to the point where young Noah's job will be extremely easier than the alternative and our victory will be secured."

"And are you sure that will work? The prophecy is very clear and _very_ definite."

"Just because the prophecy says he is the one who has to vanquish him doesn't mean we have to do nothing. It just means he'll have to be the one to deliver the finishing blow.

Dumbledore gave a deep sigh before standing up and looking through the window at the Hogwarts grounds.

"As much as I don't want him to, Noah Potter must be the one to kill Lord Voldemort."

* * *

_**Meanwhile…** _

A hooded figure was strolling through the empty castle under disillusion, silencing, and multiple other magical concealment charms. It didn't take long before the figure reached the third-floor corridor.

"Alohomora." The hooded figure whispered before opening the door.

However, the figure was met by the sight of an angry Cerberus.

* * *

_**Potter Manor** _

_**November 1, 1991** _

_**12:45 a.m.** _

Another hooded figure was under similar concealment charms inside the Potter Manor. It had been waiting there for close to an hour before the Potters finally arrived.

"Ugh!" James Potter groaned as he stepped into the living room and slumped onto the first couch he could find. "I'm knackered."

"Too knackered to join your gorgeous wife upstairs?" Lily Potter asked seductively, immediately getting James' attention.

"You know I'm never too tired for that, love," James smirked.

"Good," She gave him a heated kiss for a couple of moments. "Let me just head to the loo and then we can get started." She winked at him before leaving the room, swaying her hips provocatively as she left.

"Merlin, Lily. You're going to be the end of me." James whispered happily.

Seeing as James was alone, the figure finally made its move. It sent a silent stunning spell at the Potter patriarch before repeating the spell two times just to make sure. The figure placed James in a sleeping position before pointing its wand at his head.

" _Obliviate_! Sirius Black was your secret-keeper. He graciously accepted the responsibility and never suggested switching secret-keepers at the last minute. Peter Pettigrew isn't and was never your secret-keeper. He wasn't there when the Dark Lord attacked. Peter Pettigrew is your best and closest friend and he would never betray you. You haven't had any nightmares featuring Peter and you aren't even considering going to a mind healer, nor did you have a conversation about it with Peter or anyone else."

The figure stunned James Potter again before quietly leaving the house and apparating out of the property.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks, Proton6 and MasterChaos1 for alpha reading and ATP Synthase for beta reading!
> 
> Next chapter we'll see how Harry and Pettigrew deal with the aftermath of their respective Halloweens.


	9. Plans In Motion

_**PREVIOUSLY ON… HARRY POTTER AND THE HIDDEN THREAT** _

_Hermione stopped in her tracks and forced him to stay with her. "Tell me what's wrong, Harry," She said softly._

" _Nothing, I'm fine."_

_She huffed and let go of his arm. "Fine, if that's how you want to play it, then so be it." She started walking ahead without him. "Just don't expect me to help you until you start acting like yourself instead of like your brother."_

…

" _You want to know what happened to your bigoted friends? The four idiots had the brilliant idea of threatening the lives of me and my friends by dueling us while the trolls tried to kill us from the other side. You are making the exact same mistake as they did, they messed with me and if you don't lower your wand you're going to end up just like them. In the infirmary fighting for their lives. Please, give me a reason. Just one. Take your best shot at me, Parkinson. But you better know; if you do, you better make sure I'm dead because if you take a shot at me and I step out of here alive I swear on my life that I will_ _ **burn you and your whole family to the ground!**_ "

…

" _Obliviate! Sirius Black was your secret-keeper. He graciously accepted the responsibility and never suggested switching secret-keepers at the last minute. Peter Pettigrew isn't and was never your secret-keeper. He wasn't there when the Dark Lord attacked. Peter Pettigrew is your best and closest friend and he would never betray you. You haven't had any nightmares featuring Peter and you aren't even considering going to a mind healer, nor did you have a conversation about it with Peter or anyone else."  
_

* * *

_**CHAPTER 9: PLANS IN MOTION** _

_**Peter Pettigrew's Apartment** _

_**1:00 a.m.** _

If someone were to ask Peter when his life began, the answer would be a pretty simple one.

Ten years ago.

Ten years ago, the Dark Lord had gotten himself blown up by Noah Potter, and what could have become the end of Peter's life instead became his new beginning. He had managed to trick the entire Wizarding World, obliviate his friends, send Sirius to Azkaban, and effectively break-up the Marauders in one fell swoop. And the best thing about it was that no one even suspected him. No Death Eater actually knew of his involvement with the Dark Lord and no member of the Order of the Phoenix suspected him of being the traitor.

To the whole wizarding world, Peter Pettigrew was a nobody, and he had learned from a young age that being unnoticed and staying in the shadows was the best way to live. Don't make waves, talk less, smile more, go with the flow, never advertise what side you're truly on. And that's exactly how he decided to live after that fateful Halloween. After all, who would bother to care about Peter Pettigrew? A measly obliviator who lived alone and was almost never involved in anything that would put him in the spotlight.

He rarely talked to his co-workers, never accepted the multiple job offers that would gather the attention of the press. His only real friend was James Potter, and a part of himself mentally snorted at the thought. After how James and Sirius treated him in their last years at Hogwarts, the thought of him considering James Potter as his only true friend was laughable to the cynical part of him However, he couldn't deny the accuracy of that statement.

After the war was over, it was easy to just pretend in front of James. He had been pretending ever since their graduation, he was used to it by now. So that's what he did, he stuck close to James to make sure that he could make sure the memory charm had actually worked. But it wasn't until after the whole… _situation_ with Remus that things between him and James had changed. With Sirius in prison and the werewolf in exile, James had latched on to him as his closest friend, and Peter was more than happy to comply.

However, as time went on and he grew closer to James and his whole family, including his goddaughter, Peter couldn't honestly tell if he was still pretending to be James' friend or if he actually cared for the man. The lines had become too blurred at this point to actually tell the difference, but in the end, he had to accept the undeniable truth; he actually gave a shit about James Potter and his family. At first, Peter had hated himself for his stupidity by letting himself actually grow to care for the Potters. He had promised to himself that he would never do that again, he had supposed to have learned his lesson back at Hogwarts. He was supposed to only look out for himself and let the rest of the world burn if that's what it took.

But after a while, he realized that maybe it wasn't as bad as it seemed. At the end of the day, the war was over, Voldemort was dead, and the other two Marauders were in their own personal hell and all the while. No one actually knew what he had really done all those years ago. The war was over and _**he**_ had won even if his side had lost. He could live a happy life and completely ignore his Death Eater past as if it were nothing more than a dream.

And that's what he had done ever since. He had lived an extremely quiet life with the only action he was getting was with the woman he met during his weekend outings or vacations. And of course, it didn't hurt that he was the closest friend to one of the richest and powerful wizards in Britain. Peter had done what he had thought impossible, he managed to live an incredibly fulfilling life where enough people knew who he was to be respected, but not enough people cared about him that he was thrust into the spotlight.

For the first time in his life, Peter Pettigrew was living a life where he was genuinely happy with where he was and _who_ he was.

Until tonight.

After exactly ten years of a perfectly quiet life without any big waves that would disrupt his boat, the rug was pulled out from under him by whatever cruel deity decided that _**now**_ _**of all times**_ the memory charm suddenly starts failing. After devoting the past ten years to studying everything about memory charms _and_ experimenting with them he had never heard of a memory charm failing due to time. It was just not possible. Sure, there were a couple of ways memory charms could be bypassed, but one was an extremely expensive and ministry-controlled substance that people had to apply to get and he had already made sure to be alerted if James went through that route. The other was extremely limited as to who could learn it and he knew for certain that James still wasn't a Head of the Auror Department nor had he met either of the other requirements that could give him permission to study the art.

So, Peter repeated the same question that he had been screaming inside his head for the past four hours.

_How the bloody fuck did James Potter suddenly get his memory back out of the blue!?_

It made no sense and it was beginning to drive him insane. All of his life could've fallen apart in an instant if James Potter hadn't been a complete idiot and revealed that information to him earlier tonight. After learning that, of course, Peter wasn't going to take any chances! It didn't matter that he considered James to truly be his friend, he had not lost sight of the mantra that had gotten him to where he was in life.

 _Always look out for yourself, everybody else can go fuck themselves_.

And so, that's how Peter Pettigrew tiredly entered his apartment after returning from his mission before immediately slumping down on the nearest couch.

Peter could safely say that he had no quandaries when he snuck into Potter Manor and obliviated James of those memories that just wouldn't help anyone. After all, he hadn't done anything illegal, really. Not during the war nor after the war. His only crimes were just telling the wrong things to the wrong people, what those people did or did not do with that knowledge was not up to him. And besides, his scheme to get revenge on James and Sirius had ended up failing miserably anyways.

 _It's just like you said, old friend. No harm, no foul._ Peter thought to himself with an impish smile on his face.

He had taken care of the problem by obliviating James again, however, that didn't mean this would be the end of it. If James had managed to somehow recover those memories, there was no guarantee that he couldn't do that again. So now, Peter was faced with the question that would decide the rest of his life. What to do now?

His first instincts were to pack everything and take out all of his savings before fleeing to whatever third-world country was furthest from Britain. However, that was an option that he would consider as his final resort, he still had time.

 _Besides, you're not ready to give your life up yet, are you?_ A voice in his head whispered at him. _And how could you? You have an amazing life here. You and James are extremely close to the point where he considers you to be his brother in all but blood. You also love your goddaughter and you_ _ **know**_ _, deep down, that you can't possibly leave her. You care about them, all of them, too much to just up and leave your life when there's still a chance to save it._

 _I don't care about them more than I care about myself._ Peter mentally spat at that voice. _Always look out for yourself, everybody else can go fuck themselves_.

 _True, those are the words that have ensured our success and it would be foolish of you not to live by them. But right now you have a chance! All is not lost, at least not yet. Why would you suddenly flee when instead you can work to make sure that no one can take away your life. Or does Peter Pettigrew just bow down to anyone that wants to take what is rightfully yours? What you have rightfully_ _ **earned**_ _through all your hard work?_

_Of course not!_

_Good! Then what are you waiting for? You know what to do._

Peter nodded to himself as he stood up from his couch and entered his room before standing right in front of the right wall facing the bed. Tapping the fifteen spots in the correct order and then casting the counter for the complex locking spell the Dark Lord himself had taught him, he watched as the wall suddenly turned into water right in front of him, the water fell directly on the drain that was underneath the wall and filled up the hole perfectly before turning back into stone.

He entered the room and walked past the library as he headed towards his potions room where he kept all the potions he had been preparing or creating over the years. The potions he prepared there ranged from common potions like Pepper-Up potions and Hangover cures to more unique potions he'd been creating in his free time. And it was at the end of the hallway where he found the one he was looking for; _Obliviscaris In Perpetuum_.

The idea came to him at the height of his paranoia during the months following the war. It was to be used as a final resort in case either Potter got their memories back. This potion was the reason why he became an obliviator and dedicated all of his time and effort to learning everything he could about memory charms to the point where he was fairly sure he was one of the foremost experts on them in all of Britain. In the perfect scenario, the _Obliviscaris In Perpetuum_ would make the drinker forget every single thing about themselves with no possibility of _**ever**_ recovering those memories. Once this was in a person's system, there would be no chance for them to ever recover those memories. They would essentially be a blank slate.

_I worked on this for years and never perfected it. There are no guarantees that I can now suddenly manage to make it work._

_You know the potion can work, you just need the right motivation for it and now you have it. Stop being sloppy! Stop being lazy! If you had finished the plan you put in motion ever since that night instead of ignoring it we wouldn't be in this situation._

_We wanted this as a last resort though, this would kill James and Lily._

_It wouldn't kill them. Think of it as reforming them, you would have to work with them but if you pull this off right, you can have improved versions of your friends who won't ever discover your past and expose you to the Wizarding World._

_If James blows the whistle on me before I potion him, it would look extremely suspicious. It would just be easier for me to confess at that point._

_Then you have to make sure you potion James before he gets the chance. And if you don't manage? There are always other options. After all, you still have many resources and ways to contact the other Death Eaters. It would be a shame not to use them if necessary._

_You're right._ Peter thought to himself as he stared at the painting on the other side of the room. _It would be a shame indeed._ An evil smile crossed his features before he began working on the potion for the first time in seven years.

* * *

_**Slytherin Common Room** _

_**7:30 a.m.** _

Harry stepped out of the boys' staircase with a big smile on his face. Halloween was done and the world was much better for it. If he were pressed to say, Harry would admit that the day looked a bit brighter than yesterday. And in the end, Halloween didn't end up being _that_ bad. After all, it had ended pretty spectacularly for him. He had managed to make a new ally, deal with old enemies that were sure to become a problem in the future, strengthen his relationship with Flint, and had gained the respect of the house. All in all, it was a decent Halloween.

Harry made his way through the common room, making sure to smile at every Slytherin that looked his way and see how they reacted to him (Harry was pleased to notice that most of the expressions were neutral and there was a great deal of fewer sneers and glares thrown in his direction) before he finally reached the person he'd been wanting to see the most.

"Hello, Hermione." He greeted his best friend cheerfully as he sat down on the couch beside her.

Hermione huffed before quickly standing up and walking out of the common room with Harry in tow. "Are you still going to be acting like your jerk brother or will you go back to being yourself?" Hermione asked primly as soon as Harry caught up with her.

He winced. "Sorry, I guess I was a bit of a jerk yesterday."

Hermione snorted bitterly and shook her head in exasperation. "This is the last time you take out your anger on me like that, Harry Potter. I have too much self-respect to let anyone treat me like that."

Harry stopped and held her back before they officially left the area near the dungeons. "Look, I'm sorry okay. I was just having a bad day."

Hermione looked around for a moment before her face softened. "I know, Harry. But that doesn't mean you can treat me like crap because of it. Just control your emotions and we'll be fine." She gave him a tentative smile.

"Alright, I promise." He returned her smile.

"Good," Hermione nodded to herself, slipping back into her cold mask before continuing walking ahead. "We're skipping breakfast today. We have a lot of things to talk about."

Harry smiled at her in amusement before following her to the library. They took their spot in their usual table and cast the regular privacy charms to ensure no one could spy on them.

"Alright," Hermione started as she pulled out a large tome from her book bag and let it fall on the table with a loud _**thump**_. "We got them." Hermione said with an impish smile.

"You mean?" Harry asked eagerly.

"Yup,"

"Well then what are we waiting for!" Harry exclaimed as he moved to Hermione's side and opened the book to the _Table Of Contents_. "Where do you want to start?"

"Well, we have Potions in about an hour. So why don't we start there." Hermione said rationally before pointing her wand at the section that said _Potions_. Immediately, the book switched to the correct page.

Harry and Hermione started analyzing the 'study guides', which Harry felt was an inaccurate name for what this was. Oh sure, it was technically supposed to be a study guide, but it was so much more than that. It not only had a detailed description for everything they were going to see in each individual class, but it also had very exhaustive explanations that are not seen in class. It made learning the topics much easier and it was also going to be a big help because all the information they had to research for the essays was right there! This book seemed to have everything and anything that a student could possibly need to get full marks on all the classes if it was used appropriately.

After around fifteen minutes of just exploring the large tome, Harry finally turned to Hermione. "This is brilliant! No wonder Malfoy managed to tie with Greengrass for second place last month!"

Hermione didn't say anything, she was biting her lip in thought. "How do you think they work? The study guides?"

"I believe you were there when Snape explained very thoroughly all about the study guides and point system," Harry smirked at Hermione.

"Prat," Hermione punched him on the shoulder. "I meant what Snape said. About us forgetting about the study guides at the end of the month."

"I don't know," Harry shrugged. "There must be a spell in the book or one that Snape casts, I'm not really sure how it would work. But as long as we keep winning them then what's the problem?"

"I'm thinking more long term. If we forget the contents of the study guides at the end of the month, then will we get to remember them after the end of the year or will we just forget? If we lose the study guides then will we forget how to cast a spell if we used information from the book to learn it?"

"Hmmm… we'll definitely forget about the contents of the study guide if we lose them so I think we should not solely depend on them. We should use them as an aid while still consulting other books and making sure to learn from other sources. However, I don't really know if we'll get to remember after the year is done. At that point, I think we probably should since the year is over but I don't know. We could ask Flint about it later, he did say he would take over today's class after last night's events."

Hermione glared at him. "Since you decided to bring up last night's events, why don't we talk about them?" She began punching his shoulder. "What! On! Earth! Made! You! Run! Back! Towards! The! Trolls! Do you have a death wish!?"

"Oi! OW! Hermione! Stop!" He caught her hand to stop the barrage of punches she kept throwing at his now sore shoulder. "Look. I saw Theo about to get pummeled by the trolls and I just couldn't leave him there to die! Blame the Potter blood inside of me, but I just couldn't."

Hermione huffed. "You're turning out to be too much of a Gryffindor for my liking, Potter."

"If I remember correctly you came back for me," Harry said impishly. "I would say that was pretty Gryffindor-ish of you, Miss Granger."

"There's a difference. You," She poked him on the chest. "Harry Potter, are my friend. Nott was not even your ally. There was no rational reason to go back."

"Maybe not, but I just couldn't let him die." Hermione looked like she obviously understood what he was saying and why he did it but she crossed her arms to show her displeasure at his rashness. "Look," He started, trying to appeal to the Slytherin in her. "Think of it as a risk. We gained Nott as an ally who could be useful in the future and we made a statement to the other bigots because of how we handled Mulciber and his gang."

"Oh, yeah. I heard all about your little statement. You really don't do anything half-way, do you?"

"We would have had another confrontation with the bigots sooner or later," Harry shrugged. "This was the best way to ensure that they thought twice before trying something like what happened yesterday. It was a pretty gutsy move from them to attack us right in the open like that."

"Yeah, it was. If they hadn't been toying with us their plan would have actually worked." Hermione furrowed her brows. "Do you think that something happened to their hourglasses because of it?"

"No," Harry answered immediately. "No one else saw what they did. They were sneaky about it and didn't really break any of the rules so I think they're safe in that account. But you're right, they got too overconfident to the point where one of them even used an unforgivable!"

"They underestimated us," Hermione said simply. "They were sure they were going to end up killing us and made mistakes."

"You know, you seem really nonchalant about people wanting to kill you. I would have thought you would have more of a reaction to it."

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him. "Is it really a surprise? It wasn't more than fifteen years ago when the Death Eaters hunted muggle-borns and killed them in their own homes. I knew what I was getting into before I came to Hogwarts and I still decided it was better to come here than stay there. So while people started trying to kill me a bit earlier than I thought, I am not surprised by the fact that it happened. _However_ , just because I am not surprised this happened that does not mean I'm _okay_ with it. Don't think I'm not making sure to remember every single person who has wronged me in any way. Trust me when I tell you that when the time is right and I actually have some influence, I will make sure they all come to regret it."

Harry smiled at her. "I wouldn't have expected anything less."

* * *

_**Hallway Outside The Prefects Dormitories, Slytherin Common Room** _

_**11:35 p.m.** _

Reginald Avery was a very punctual person, which meant that every day, without fail, the sixth-year Slytherin finished studying at 11:30 p.m. sharp. All the observant Slytherins knew it but most importantly, Marcus Flint knew it. This is why he found himself waiting in the dark for him to return with Gemma and Higgs as his accomplices. He had finally put all his plans in motion so that he could make his big play tonight, and he was going to make sure to savor this.

So when he heard the footsteps from the staircase, he couldn't stop the evil grin that appeared on his face. The three Slytherins watched from the shadows as Avery entered the hallway and began walking towards his room. Flint gave the signal to Gemma and she fired the silent stunner that hit her mark perfectly just before Higgs managed to catch the stunned body with a levitation charm.

"Perfect," He praised his friends before looking predatorily at his old friend. "Let's go."

Flint opened the door to his room and watched as Higgs levitated Avery into the room before following Gemma inside and making sure to close the door behind him. They set Avery in the chair before tying him up extremely well and removing his wand. Once they were sure he could not escape, they revived him.

It didn't take more than two seconds before the sixth-year started screaming. "YAXLEY! JUGSON! HELP! HELP ME!" As he did so, Flint, Higgs, and Gemma laughed cruelly at him.

"Come on! You can do better than that!" Flint taunted. "Put some effort into it! Here, I'll scream with you. AH! SOMEBODY HELP!" He began howling with laughter as Avery realized the thing Flint already knew.

Reginald Avery was completely and totally fucked.

"That was cute," Flint said snidely after he composed himself. "I'd even give you a few points for it but I don't want the Headmaster knowing why I gave them to you, so I'll refrain."

"Marcus, ple-"

"Don't you dare call me that!" Flint snarled as he immediately pulled out his wand and put it under Avery's neck. "You lost that right years ago."

"Flint, please. It wasn't personal." The boy pleaded.

"Oh, don't worry." Flint chuckled. "I know. However, I can promise you something. _This_ , what I'm about to do. This is so much more than _just_ personal. And I'm going to enjoy every second of it. Did you really think that you and your little friends could try to kill me and Harry fucking Potter, the kid that I made sure every Slytherin knew was under _**my protection**_ , and that I wouldn't retaliate in any way? Did you really think that I'd just forgive and forget? Because if you did, you were _very_ wrong. I'll make sure that the other three pay in their own way, but right now I'm going to focus on you. Because _you_ , my friend, you and I have history. Tell me, what would Carrow, Rosier, and Mulciber think when they realize you and the others have been lying to them? What do you think they'll do when they find out about _The Knights_?" Avery's eyes widened at that. "Nah, don't worry. I'm not going to out the Knights just yet. No, what I have in mind is so much better."

Flint stood up and began pacing in front of him while Gemma and Higgs watched with interest. He knew they were dying to know what he planned to do, but he had wanted to make it a surprise so he didn't tell them the full extent of his plans.

"You see," Flint continued. "When I was a kid, I was so… _pissed_ about what had happened. My uncle and brother were too, no doubt about it. But at the time, I thought that I was even angrier than them. I had always fantasized about being a part of the group, going out on missions, and helping to put the mudbloods in their place while ensuring the pure-blood ways survived. Merlin, I was such an idiot," Flint laughed. "And thankfully, I've spent my time at Hogwarts with people who have taught me how wrong I was. Now I'm actually glad my family was thrown out of the Knights because I would have been extremely disappointed with myself if I had turned out like one of you. My point, with this little story, is that even though my opinion on the Knights of Walpurgis has changed completely, a part of me still yearns for one thing. I want to know what happens inside those meetings the adults always had. Do you remember them? The ones where they holed themselves up in the dining room for hours while they told us to go play on any other part of the Manor? Yeah, those ones. All my life I've been dying to know what actually happened in those meetings."

Flint turned back to Avery and sat down on the chair in front of him.

"Now, you might be wondering. _Flint, why on earth are you talking about this right now?_ I'm getting there, I'm getting there. All these aspirations of learning what goes on during those meetings are just the dreams of a sad and lonely kid. Or they would be if certain events were not taken into consideration. And all these events surround one person; Harry James Potter. Let me tell you something, Avery. That kid, he's brilliant, like _truly_ brilliant. He's a little bit rough around the edges and he has much to learn, I'll give you that. But he has the potential to be the truest Slytherin out of anyone I've ever met. He's a natural, that's for sure, he just needs a push in the right direction. I mean, look at what he's done, when he arrived at Hogwarts he was a nobody, I didn't even know the kid existed until the sorting ceremony, and now, every Slytherin knows his name and most actually respect him. A first-year! You should've seen how he took control of the room back in Halloween after you tried to kill us, it was perfect. He has made more waves than any other first-year and has gone up against the whole lot of you guys, and he not only managed to survive it, but he's also beating you. He knew what alliances to make and what buttons to push and I don't even think the kid even fully knows what he's doing. Like I said, a natural. But someone doesn't just appear out of nowhere and cause as many waves as Potter has without getting the attention of the sharks. I'm sure that you and the other kids on the Knights have already sent letters back home talking about Harry Potter, so I'm sure that he will be a topic of conversation in the winter meeting."

Flint leaned back and sighed dramatically.

"And that leaves me with a big problem. You see, I don't think I'm okay with a bunch of fifty-year-old men and women talking about an eleven-year-old kid and deciding what to do about him. Well, at least I'm not comfortable about it without knowing what happens. Frankly, I've invested too much in Potter that it just won't do to let you and your little cult ruin him. And so, Avery, we go to the crux of the problem. Those Merlin damned meetings! I need to know what happens in those meetings, otherwise, how am I supposed to make sure you don't get your filthy hands on my ward? No, that just won't do. And that's why I've decided, Avery, that I'm going to have a spy inside the organization. And guess who's going to be the lucky guy who gets that position?" Flint grinned.

"NO!" Avery immediately shouted. "Flint, they'll kill me! You know how they are! You know about… _**her**_. I'm not doing that. Torture me, I don't care. I'm not stupid enough to cross the Knights of Walpurgis."

"Torture you?" Flint asked with over-the-top bemusement. "Who said anything about torturing you? No. Nothing of the sort. I'm going to tell you what's going to happen here. In five minutes, you're going to step out of this room with your wand in your hand after you'll agree to become my spy on your own accord, and the best thing about it is that you'll thank me for it. Gemma, love," Flint turned towards her, only to watch her throw a small trapezoidal prism made of glass. Flint caught it easily before turning back towards Avery. With a wave of his wand, Flint released Avery from his restraints and threw the remembrall at him as the sixth-year stood up. "Here, why don't you look at the memory I stored there."

Flint watched as Avery looked at the remembrall with trepidation before his eyes suddenly glazed and red smoke appeared inside the glass object. One minute later, Avery came out of the memory and immediately staggered back into his chair with a terrified look on his face.

"You didn't think I had forgotten about that, did you, old friend? You were so confident that you were going to succeed in killing us that you got excited. You made a mistake. You used the killing curse and the four of us lived to tell the tale. Now, before you do anything stupid, I should tell you that I sent seven different remembralls to seven different people, from seven different families. So let me tell you how this is going to work, Avery. If anything happens to me, if I start acting suspicious, if one of the people I trusted with a remembrall dies suspiciously, if one of them fears for their life, or if you just piss me off, that memory you just saw will be sent to the right people who will ensure that you get a one-way ticket to Azkaban for your use of an unforgivable, on a first-year no less! I also have other contingencies in place in case some other worst-case-scenarios happen, but I won't bore you with all the details. Now, let me say this in layman's terms in case you're too dumb to understand."

Flint stopped containing his emotions and shot him the vilest, nastiest, and yet most triumphant smirk.

"I. Own. You. If I say jump, you'll jump. If I say roll over, you'll roll over. If I say break-up with your girlfriend, you'll do just that. If I say you're going to be my spy and tell me everything that happens inside the meetings of The Knights of Walpurgis, what will you do?"

Avery stared at nothing, but Flint could see clearly that he was weighing his options carefully. But in the end, Flint knew what would win. After all, the possibility of death was much better than the certainty of life in Azkaban.

"I'll be your spy and tell you everything that happens inside the meetings of The Knights of Walpurgis," Avery whispered in defeat.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you?" Flint mocked and Avery sighed to himself before looking up at him.

"I'll be your spy and tell you everything that happens inside the meetings of The Knights of Walpurgis."

"Good boy," Flint said patronizingly. "And while you're at it, you'll also spy on the other bigots for me, won't you."

Avery looked down but nodded.

"I want you to say it," Flint said harshly, wanting to humiliate the sixth-year completely.

"I'll spy on the other bigots, too."

"That wasn't so hard, now was it? It should be left unsaid that if anyone else learns or finds out about this meeting, the memory I showed you today will not stay hidden either, right?"

"Right." Avery gulped.

"Excellent. Now, as promised." Flint pulled out Avery's wand from his pocket and the boy immediately took it and pocketed it before quickly going for the door. "Oh, Reg," Flint turned around and grinned at his new spy. "I just saved your life by not sending this memory to the DMLE. It's usually polite to say 'thank you' when someone saves your life."

"Thank you," Avery mumbled before leaving the room as fast as he could.

Flint smiled to himself as he sat back down on his chair. This move could have very well made the problem of protecting Potter and Granger much easier and at the same time he would finally get a spy into The Knights which could end up being extremely useful in the future. For now his job was done, he would deal with the other bigots later.

Right now, he needed to focus on Harry Potter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks, Proton6 and MasterChaos1 for alpha reading and ATP Synthase for beta reading!
> 
> This was a pretty light chapter on both Harry and Hermione, so let's talk about one of the big players in this chapter. Marcus Flint. This guy has a pretty complicated past and many different experiences with different people. I started to tease it in this chapter and it will be explored more and more as we go on. There are a lot of things I want to say about him, but since many are linked with his relationship with The Knights of Walpurgis, I'll keep my mouth shut. That's something I don't want to spoil or talk about in too much detail because they will be a big part of the fic as a whole.
> 
> I won't say anything about Peter here except for the fact that we won't see him for a while.
> 
> Alright, that's it for this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it! Next chapter will be the start of the winter break where we'll see what Flint's plans for Harry are and meet a new big character.


	10. Winter Break

_**PREVIOUSLY ON… HARRY POTTER AND THE HIDDEN THREAT** _

_He had expected Malfoy to go back to harassing Hermione by now - he had been ready for any confrontation that would surface because of it. But it hadn't happened yet. That lack of action bothered Harry. He knew Malfoy and even though he hoped that the blond would stop being so bigoted as time went on, he knew he wouldn't just change in a second. If anything, Malfoy's silence worried Harry more than if he had joined Mulciber and Rosier in tormenting Hermione._

…

" _Let me tell you something, Avery. That kid, he's brilliant, like truly brilliant. He's a little bit rough around the edges and he has much to learn, I'll give you that. But he has the potential to be the truest Slytherin out of anyone I've ever met. He's a natural, that's for sure, he just needs a push in the right direction."  
_

* * *

_**CHAPTER 10: WINTER BREAK** _

_**Slytherin Table, The Great Hall** _

_**December 15, 1991** _

_**8:45 a.m.** _

Breakfast at the Slytherin table was almost unbearably tense, it almost made Harry miss all those dreadful family dinners at Potter Manor. This wasn't something new, the tension had been growing for a while not only inside the year but inside the house as a whole. The first cracks started after the whole study guide fiasco, which ended up breaking the year-group into three factions. There were Malfoy and the other bigots who never bothered to hide their hatred towards them, and even after the whole situation, he caught the sights of Malfoy's mask falling to glare at him for a couple of seconds. Then there were the _Neutrals_ as Harry and Hermione had started to call them who were led by Greengrass. After the argument, the _Neutrals_ stopped pretending to be nice around them, but apart from a few sneers here and there, there was no real attack from them. Which left the other group, Harry, Hermione, and most recently… Theo.

During November, the isolated Slytherin slowly started to incorporate himself with Harry and by extension Hermione. It started out as spending a little bit of time in the common room doing small, but mainly useless, small talk but by the end-of-term exams, Theo was constantly with them in the classrooms, the Great Hall, and even the common room. However, the one thing he didn't do was study with them, much to Hermione's delight as she didn't want to share the study guides with him. After all, the deal she'd made had been with Harry and Harry alone and he could tell Hermione still hadn't warmed up to the pure-blood. Hermione hadn't really warmed up to anyone except Harry, and even then, it had taken a lot of time to break down her walls to let him in. A part of Harry suspected that Theo knew that he and Hermione were the winners of the study guides and decided to not get involved unless invited, an action which made Harry feel grateful for his new ally (friend?).

But no, the tension at the table wasn't because of the bloody study guides, the problem in Slytherin House wasn't just limited to Harry's year. The tension was because of the other large confrontation that he himself had caused. Halloween. After that night, the House became truly divided, the lines firmly drawn on the ground. There were the pure-blood bigots who clearly wanted to attack him and Hermione and anyone associated with him. There was also the faction that consisted of him, Flint, their respective allies. And finally, there were the neutrals, the ones who just decided to watch the whole thing with amusement.

And so (for the first time in a long time according to Flint), Slytherin House was truly divided. While no other big confrontations had happened since Halloween night, it was clear to Harry that as soon as someone so much as twitched the wrong way, all hell would break loose.

Unfortunately for Harry, the quiet pleasant quietness from the table was suddenly disrupted by an obnoxious voice he hadn't missed at all.

"Why the bloody hell have you not answered your mirror!" Noah Potter snapped at him and at that moment he realized that whatever tension was in Slytherin House, it was much better than anything to do with his family. "Since you haven't answered, Dad has been calling me and demanding that I tell you to pick up! Five times just this morning!"

Every Slytherin (except Hermione, who was trying to burn a hole into Noah's head with the mere power of her glare) turned to look at him with blank expressions that didn't reveal how amused they were at watching more of the Potters family drama. Harry made himself a mental reminder to teach Noah about normal things like 'privacy' and 'discretion' but immediately discarded it. Teaching a Gryffindor how to be discreet would be as easy as teaching a lion how to fly. Harry, slower than usual, finished chewing the eggs that he had been eating and drank a little pumpkin juice before finally turning to face Noah.

"Oh, hello Little Brother," He said with exaggerated cheerfulness. "Pray tell, what can I do for you during this lovely morning."

Noah scoffed. "How about answering Dad so that he doesn't have to bother me every time he wants to talk to you."

"Oh, that. I know why he's calling me and I made my answer pretty clear to him when I decided not to answer. You can tell him that if you want."

"I'm not your owl!"

Harry looked him up and down dramatically. "Obviously," He deadpanned "Hedwig is much smarter than you will ever be." His brother glared at him and opened his mouth to make a rebuke but Harry beat him to it. "Look, Noah, be reasonable. Just tell Dad that I said that and that I made some ominous _Slytheriny_ threat to stay away from me and he won't bother you again. We'll be rid of each other for the holidays and won't have to see each other for another three weeks! It's a win-win situation."

"Wait," Noah said, suddenly taken aback. "You're not coming home for the holidays? Why not!?"

Harry sighed in exasperation and cursed whatever deity had cursed him to be Noah bloody Potter's brother. "For reasons that you clearly aren't smart enough to understand. Now, I would love to get back to my breakfast, so unless you don't leave now, I will actually make those threats I mentioned."

"Fine, I don't care. We'll be better off without you." Noah huffed angrily before walking away.

 _That, my dear brother, is the one thing we can agree on_. Harry thought to himself numbly before turning back to his food. Unfortunately, it appeared as if Noah had broken whatever curse that kept everyone quiet because Draco Malfoy decided to open his mouth.

"So, Potter, you're staying here for the holidays?" He asked, not confrontationally but with curiosity.

"Yes, I am," Harry replied silkily. "After learning that Hermione and Theo would be staying here, I decided to spend my winter holidays here at Hogwarts with them." He recited the lie he'd come up with in advance.

"It seems that your father doesn't agree with your plans? How come he can't just force you to go home?" Draco asked.

"According to _Hogwarts: A History_ ; 'the decision to stay at Hogwarts during the winter holidays or leave the castle is entirely up to the student. The parents of the student don't have any legal authority to interfere with that decision.'" Hermione explained before Harry could even open his mouth. "It was one of the rules made specifically by the founders, and so it can't be ignored, retracted, or abolished. Not even the Headmaster himself can override it."

"But shouldn't the Ministry be able to get involved? Surely if someone really wanted to, they could find a way to bypass that rule?" Malfoy suggested.

"Hogwarts isn't controlled by the Ministry, in fact, it's older than it. The school is its own entity and the rules created by the founders limit a lot of what the Ministry can do in regards to Hogwarts nowadays. So, no, they can't force Harry to go home until the summer break when no student is allowed to stay at the school."

Malfoy slightly raised his eyebrows before shrugging and going back to his breakfast. Soon after that, most students left the Great Hall to make last-minute packing before the train left in two hours, leaving the castle alone for everyone except the teachers, two Hufflepuffs, one Ravenclaw, and five Slytherins.

* * *

_**Astronomy Tower** _

_**3:45 p.m.** _

With the majority of the students half-way to London and the whole castle to himself. Harry had decided to explore the castle and ended up in the Astronomy Tower. At this point he had no idea how long he'd been there, admiring the view of the grounds, before his peace and quiet was suddenly interrupted.

"You're a hard man to find, Potter." Flint Marcus said gruffly from behind him.

"Only when I don't want to be found," Harry said calmly to mask his irritation without taking his eyes off of the beautiful view.

"Where are Granger and Nott? I rarely see you without one of them by your side."

Harry sighed and turned to face the older Slytherin, it was clear that Marcus had no intention of leaving. "They wanted to study and I wanted to be alone."

"Well, too bad," Flint said before suddenly throwing some large cloaked hood at him. "Because today, Potter, the two of us are going out."

"I'm sorry, Flint, but I don't swing that way." Flint rolled his eyes at him and Harry turned to the cloak in his hands. "What is this?"

"Concealment cloak. When you put it on with the hood it will conceal your face completely. You'll need that for where we're going."

"And where is that?" Harry asked archly.

"Diagon Alley. Well, first we'll fly to Hogsmeade and floo to Diagon Alley from there."

"Not that I'm against this little trip of yours, but I don't really get the point of it and somehow I don't think Dumbledore would be too happy with us leaving through the entrance, let alone fly away."

"The point of this 'little trip' as you so adequately called it, is to teach you how to be a true Slytherin. After all, I'm going to leave after your third year and you'll have to know how to handle yourself."

"I've been doing alright on my own, thank you very much."

"Potter, you would've been dead five times over if it weren't for me," Flint said angrily as he walked towards him. "There are a lot of things I've been doing behind the scenes that you don't know about but have stopped and will continue stopping any attacks on you and Granger. I'm not telling you this to boast or because I want your gratitude, but because I want you to understand that there are a lot of things going on that you don't know about and you still have a lot to learn."

"Are you really that concerned about my well being that you're going out of your way just to 'teach me' things? I didn't know you cared so much." Flint scoffed at him but didn't make a rebuke which surprised Harry, not that he showed it. "Well then, please Professor, start your lesson," Harry said in an over-the-top manner.

"The first thing you should learn is to take things seriously, Potter, but since that will probably take me the next few years to teach you I'll leave that for later. Now, tell me, Potter, why are you here? Why out of all places are you here, brooding while staring at nothing like some Gryffindor."

"I'm not brooding," Harry grumbled, and Flint didn't bother to hide his disbelief of that statement.

"Alright," He said condescendingly. "You're not brooding. Then what are you doing? Why are you here?"

"I just wanted to be alone -"

"Yes, but why! Why do you want to be alone! And why at this particular time!"

"I don't know, I just wanted to be alone, okay?" Harry snapped.

Flint paused and stared straight into his eyes. "What are you feeling?"

"Annoyed," Harry said dryly and Flint rolled his eyes.

"Stop evading the question, Potter, what were you feeling that made you want to be alone?"

"I never thought I'd see the day when Marcus Flint of all people asked me to talk about my feelings with him," Harry deadpanned.

"Look," Flint started, and Harry could tell he had managed to get on the older boy's nerve. "I'm not asking you this because I want to talk about your feelings or because I want to find them out for my own gain. I'm asking these questions because you, Potter, you don't control your feelings. Your feelings control you. And that's the worst thing that a Slytherin can do. You need to learn how to manage your emotions and use your head to actually think instead of letting your feelings do that for you. _That_ is what makes us different from the Gryffindors. We're not different because we're evil and cowardly while they're good and brave. We're different because a Slytherin controls his emotions and thinks with his head while a Gryffindor gets controlled by his emotions and thinks with his gut. It doesn't matter how smart or how cunning you are, if you let your emotions direct you, you'll be just as much of an idiot as your brother."

Harry's first thought was to make some sarcastic retort or some angry comment but he stopped himself before that happened. Instead, he paused and counted to ten as he tried to get a hold of himself. It seemed that Flint may have had a point.

"Good, you're finally thinking with your brain. Keep it that way. You should at least try to control your emotions every time you're out in public, it's the best way to survive not just in Slytherin House but in the real world. Now, controlling your emotions doesn't mean completely suppressing them, that is extremely unhealthy. Controlling your emotions means that you don't let your emotions affect your decisions and actions while you're in public, but when you're in the privacy of your own company you should allow yourself to feel, process, and understand your emotions. In my experience, meditating every night before bed and keeping a private journal where you can free your thoughts and emotions are the best ways to do so." Flint offered and Harry nodded.

"Alright, I can do that."

"Good, now. I'll tell you the rest while we're in Diagon Alley. It's going to be a long day and we have much to do."

"Right, which brings me to my second point? How are we going to get there?"

Flint smirked at him before enlarging two miniature brooms he had inside his cloak.

* * *

_**Diagon Alley** _

_**4:10 p.m.** _

"I can't believe that worked!" Harry said incredulously to the hooded figure beside him. "You would think the wards would stop any brooms from crossing in and out of the Hogwarts grounds."

"That wouldn't be as good an idea as you may think, Potter," Flint answered, his voice distorted by the cloak. "Hogwarts is a school full of students, students like your brother who wouldn't think twice before trying a stunt like the one we just did. If there were wards like that and a student were to cross them, even by accident, they would be extremely injured in the best of cases and dead in the worst."

"And were you one of those idiotic students that tried to fly to Hogsmeade without knowing about the lack of wards?"

"Of course not," Flint scoffed. "I asked Madam Hooch about it in my first-year."

Harry nodded to himself. "So why are we here? And why today of all days?"

"We're here, Potter, because there are a lot of things you need to learn about being a Slytherin. Today, I'll start teaching you these things and making sure that you have the… _right_ tools. We'll talk more about this after we leave here." Flint said as soon as they reached the entrance of Gringotts.

Thirty minutes later Harry and Flint left Gringotts after emptying the two thousand galleons that had been inside Harry's trust fund. Harry had to hide his surprise at the amount, considering that it was only required to fill the vault with a minimum of one thousand per year, but apparently, James had taken the liberty to give him two thousand. Harry filed away his complicated feelings for his parents and decided he would review them later tonight.

"Alright, Potter, one of the most important things about being a Slytherin is actually one thing you lack. Networking. You're too aggressive for your own good," Harry opened his mouth to interrupt but it seemed that Flint was prepared for him because he cut him off. "You _are_. Don't deny it. You've been aggressive for the last three months and while you had to be so that you and Granger could survive, you also need to know when the time is right to make truces with your enemies. Right now the whole house is in disarray and it's because of all the waves you are making, which is good! Those waves you made will end up changing the House for the better. However, you have to learn when to pick your battles and with whom."

Harry bit back a sigh of exasperation as the two made their way across the street.

"Going back to networking. You have a big problem at it to the point where people didn't know you existed! And you're not any random kid from any random wizarding home, like it or not you're the brother to The Boy Who Lived and your family has the attention of the whole press at any given moment in time. How you managed to stay out of the spotlight until Hogwarts, I have no idea, however, that is something that will have to change. With how many parties the Potter's host and how important they are in the Wizarding World at the moment, it's insane that you're wasting those opportunities to network with anyone who attends those parties."

"I'll keep that in mind for the next time everyone starts licking the dirt off of Noah's feet at those parties."

"You're thinking with your stomach, Potter. Next time you're at those parties pay attention as to who does that. No self-respecting witch or wizard, much less Head of House, would act that way. Only buffoons like Fudge who survive by sucking up to better wizards and people who want to be on the Potters' good graces do that. There are plenty of other people in those parties who you can network with, and the best way to start is by networking with the kids at Hogwarts."

Harry snorted. "With the house as split as it is, I somehow doubt that networking with the others is even possible at the moment. Besides, my father hates us slimy snakes. He barely invites any Slytherins at all, and for them to get an invitation they have to either be one of his superiors or someone who he is forced to deal with on a daily basis, which excludes most of my classmates and their families."

"I never said to just network with the other Slytherin kids, I told you to network with the kids at _Hogwarts_. I can't say anything else, the first-years are supposed to find their place in their own year-group without any help from the older students, just remember that Slytherin isn't the only House of the school." Suddenly, Flint stopped right at the entrance of Knockturn Alley. "Now," He said, in the most serious tone he'd ever heard from the older boy. "What I'm about to show you today is extremely, extremely top secret. Out of the twenty-five thousand witches and wizards currently living in England, less than three hundred know about this. You're not allowed to tell anyone about any of this, not even Granger! Am I making myself clear or do we have to make another unbreakable vow to make sure you understand?"

"No," Harry said, hiding the fact that he was startled at the boy's sudden change of demeanor. "I understand."

Harry looked into the black void where he knew Flint's face was for what felt like a full minute before the boy nodded and they entered Knockturn Alley together.

"Don't say anything, don't touch anything, don't talk to anyone. Not until I tell you to." Flint whispered at him and Harry agreed mutely.

They walked together in silence until they reached the White Wyvern, the most popular pub in Knockturn Alley. Entering the mostly empty pub, Harry followed Flint who slightly bowed his head to the bartender, who in turn returned the gesture, before heading straight for the bathrooms. Flint went to the stall furthest away (which was out of order) and opened the door for Harry to step in, to which he reluctantly did before Flint joined him and closed the door behind him.

"Lovely, now, what are we doing here?"

"Shut up, Potter," Flint growled at him as he pulled out his wand and tapped several specific places of the toilet before doing a complicated wand movement. When he finished it, the piece of the wall behind the toilet went backwards and the toilet was pulled with it until there was a hole on the ground with a ladder that led to a chamber below.

Harry looked at the hole suspiciously before turning to Flint. "After you,"

Flint shook his head before sighing and descending the ladder as he muttered something that sounded similar to 'kids!' Harry followed him down the short ladder and looked around as he reached the ground. It was a small, dark room that was only lit by a single torch. It was also completely empty except for a large portrait of a muscular man who had what seemed to be a permanent frown on his face.

Harry stood beside Flint as the portrait did nothing but stare at them until Flint suddenly took off his hood and uncovered a part of his chest, where a black tattoo in the form of a vertical line and circle enclosed by a triangle suddenly appeared on his chest for a couple of seconds before disappearing. The portrait nodded gruffly before it swung forward and revealed what looked to be an extremely old elevator on the end of the chamber.

"Err… Flint? Where are we going?" Harry asked nervously as they got on the elevator.

"This, Potter, is the entrance to Midknight Alley. Don't ask me for a history lesson because I don't have one, but from what I have gathered Midknight Alley has been here for as long as Diagon Alley. Very few families know of its existence and fewer know how to enter, let alone are _allowed_ to enter. As you might have guessed, this place is far from legal and it's the deepest and darkest market in the whole of Wizarding Britain. Anything you may want, you can find here or you can be sure they'll get it for you."

"But how is this whole place kept secret? How come the Ministry doesn't know about it? How come they don't do anything?" Harry said as the elevator stopped.

He and Flint stepped out into an extremely dark and ominous alley whose only light source was the occasional dim lamp and the charmed night sky. It made Knockturn Alley look as inviting as Diagon Alley. The place immediately put Harry on edge and a part of him hoped that he would never have to come down here ever again.

Flint started walking and Harry followed, ignoring the few people in similar attires to them that were walking around. "Of course the Ministry knows about it. Not everyone, but a lot of extremely prominent and important people are regularly down here. However, it is impossible for them to reveal it to the Ministry or do something that will jeopardize the Alley or the people who come down here. That tattoo I have that you need to show the portrait. That's a modified version of the unbreakable vow to protect the safety of the alley. Let's say for argument's sake that I were to become Head of the DMLE, I wouldn't be able to reveal its location or even send people undercover here. While I could still come down here myself and conduct whatever investigation I wanted, I wouldn't be able to threaten the secrecy of the place or the people who come here. What I just did, invite you without forcing you to make an unbreakable vow similar to the one I made when I got the tattoo is highly frowned upon and almost never happens, so keep that to yourself."

"And how do you get those tattoos?" Harry asked. As much as he never wanted to come down here again, he knew it would be best to have that option.

"You need to have a contact on the inside and even then, only ten families still have the ability to authorize it. Fortunately for you, you're in luck. The Flints are one of those families."

"Really?" Harry didn't bother hiding the surprise in his face.

"Yes, really," Flint said irritably. "While the Flint name may not command the same respect as before and we're now even poorer than the Weasleys because of many bad decisions over the past century, we still have some sway on some places and this is one of them. In here," Flint opened the door for him and Harry stepped inside the store, taking in his surroundings.

It was a small shop like all the other ones and it was full of weird objects that Harry didn't recognize at all and was sure probably had dark magic. Remembering Flint's rule to not touch anything, Harry decided to just inspect them from a distance.

"May I help you?" An older man asked them from the counter and Flint removed his hood. "Marcus!" The older man exclaimed, suddenly cheerful. "I haven't seen you in a while. How are you!"

"Everard, it has been a while, hasn't it?" Flint asked jovially.

"Two years! You've grown! How the times have changed! I still remember when you were nothing more than a toddler, you know?" Harry was surprised to see Flint look sheepish for the first time. "What brings you here? Who's your friend?"

"Yeah, about that…" Flint looked at Harry hesitantly before turning back to Everard. "I need a favor, a couple of them actually. I need the _specials_."

As soon as Flint said this, the older man immediately stood straight, and with a couple of flicks of his hand the windows of the shop were closed and the door was locked. Harry had to exercise all sense of self-control to not let his jaw drop at the sight of wandless magic being used as efficiently and carelessly as that.

"Flint," The cheerful demeanor was suddenly replaced by a very serious look. "You know the _specials_ are only for you and the other three families. I don't want any trouble and that's exactly what will happen if more people learn about them. Just because my family owes a great debt to yours doesn't mean that you can abuse the privileges I give you."

"I know," Flint placated the man. "And trust me when I tell you that I wouldn't be here unless it was absolutely necessary, but it is. It's life or death."

Everard looked suspiciously at Harry. "Who's your friend?"

"He'll take off his hood in a moment, just don't do anything rash, okay?" The man nodded and Flint turned to Harry. "Do it," He commanded and Harry removed his hood.

And that's when all hell broke loose.

Everard immediately summoned his wand and pointed it directly at Harry. But Flint was ready and before the man could cast a spell Flint put himself in between him and Harry.

"Everard, please calm down and think!" Flint snapped.

"You bring The Bloody Boy Who Lived and the son of one of the biggest Aurors in the DMLE to my shop and you want me to calm down!?"

"He's not Noah Potter, he's his twin, and he hates his father!" Flint tried to make him understand.

"Why the hell should I give a fuck if the boy cares for his father or not!?" Everard growled before calming himself. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't kick you out of my shop and ban you for the rest of your life."

"The _Knights_!" Flint shouted and that finally made an impact as Everard faltered on his feet and looked as if he had been struck. "Please, let me explain. Just not in front of the kid." Flint breathed out with a sincerity he'd never heard from the fifth-year.

Everard looked at Harry wearily before he nodded. Flint moved towards him and cast some privacy charms to keep Harry out of the conversation before he began speaking. As much as Harry wanted to impose and ask Flint what the hell he was talking about, he decided to keep his emotions in check and just ask him later. It was clear they were already in a difficult position with the shopkeeper and Harry didn't think it would be smart to jeopardize that. The two men talked for what felt like an hour but was probably closer to ten minutes before Flint canceled the charm and the man went somewhere behind the shop.

"What the hell was that?" Harry hissed at Flint.

"When the shop was starting up about three hundred years ago, the Flints, the Travers, the Goyles, and the Selwyns were the main investors of the business and one of the big reasons why it ended up being so successful. And so, the four families don't pay and they are the only ones who can get what Everard calls the _specials_. You'll see soon enough. unfortunately, you'll still have to pay and it won't be cheap."

"I didn't mean that!" Harry growled even when a part of himself reminded him that he did want to ask that. "Who the hell are the _Knights_!?"

"Look, I promise I'll tell you, and soon, but right now I can't, Potter. You're just going to have to trust me."

"Oh, trust you. That's rich. You can't just throw around some obscure and threatening name like the Knights and say they're related to me witho-"

"Harry!" Flint interrupted him sharply, using his name for the first time. He knelt down and looked at him straight in the eye and Harry was surprised at how _vulnerable_ he looked. "Just please trust me. You can't deal with these people, I certainly can't and I doubt your father can, even with his reputation. They are ruthless, cunning, efficient, powerful, organized, and they are everywhere. They won't care about your threats and won't even bat an eye at killing you if you force their hand by pulling a stunt like the one you pulled with Parkinson. And this is just from the little I know about them!"

"They can't be any worse than Voldemort," Harry said offhandedly, wanting to hide how… _afraid_ he truly felt. He had never seen Flint look this alarmed about anything or anyone.

"Don't call him that," Flint said seriously. "You weren't alive when he was in power, not really. You didn't see how vicious he was when he dismembered his enemies after torturing them for days on end or how powerful he was when he dueled with some of the most powerful wizards in the world. And my father was a Death Eater! I'm pretty sure I didn't see the worst of him. This is exactly the reason why I can't tell you anything yet! You need to learn to respect your enemies because if you don't, you've already lost."

"I won't fear Voldemort," Harry scoffed. "He was killed by a bloody one-year-old in diapers!"

"I never said you should fear him. There's a difference between fear and respect, Potter, and you need to learn what the difference is. Don't call him You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named or any of those bullshit names! Call him what he was: _The Dark Lord_." Harry looked at him for a moment before finally reluctantly nodding. "Harry, I promise that I will tell you about them, and soon. But before I do I need more information on them and I need to make sure that you're ready. These people - they may not be as powerful as Voldemort or his Death Eaters were but they were a close second, especially the leader, and the difference between the Death Eaters and the Knights is that the Knights are still out there and very much in power. Just please, trust me to keep you safe."

"Alright," Harry said, disinclined. "I'll trust you." Flint smiled at him genuinely before standing up and walking up to the counter. "Why?" Harry whispered, causing Flint to stop and look back. "All of this, it goes way beyond the vow we made, and yet you're still doing this when you could just stand back and watch. So why are you doing this?"

Flint sighed and looked away. "Maybe it's because you would be a pretty shitty ally if you died on me right now. Maybe it's because I feel pity and think you wouldn't have a chance against the Knights unless I helped, maybe it's because I want to cash in my favor before you die. Maybe you remind me of someone I used to know." The older boy shook his head before looking at Harry straight in the eyes, and it was only now that he suddenly realized that he had the same emerald eyes as him. "Or maybe, just… just maybe... I've grown to like you more than I'm willing to admit."

The two of them looked at each other, truly looked at each other, because that's what it felt like. It felt that after everything, they were finally seeing the real people behind their masks. After a couple moments of quiet Harry suddenly chuckled and looked away. "Don't get sappy with me, Flint. You'll make me think you're going soft."

Flint mirrored his laughter. "We can't have that, now can we?"

Before Harry could reply Everard returned carrying a tray with three items, each in their respective cases. "Here we go, Marcus." The man said in a shaky voice that Harry considered to be an improvement to the threats from earlier.

"Potter," Flint called out.

Harry walked towards the counter and looked at the three objects while Flint placed an arm on his shoulder. Harry opened the first case only to see a pair of rectangular glasses.

"Nice thought, Flint. But my glasses still work quite well."

Everard snorted mirthfully as a twinkle appeared in his eye. "That, boy, isn't just any set of glasses. They are charmed with pretty much any legal and illegal charm that could be applied to them. They are charmed to be impervious to water or fog, the glasses automatically adjust to your eyesight needs, and they have a model that helps you see much better and the dark. And those are just the legal charms. They can see under invisibility cloaks, disillusionment charms, or any other form of magical concealment. They have an infrared mode, they can see through most walls, and even have a feature that will help you listen to the conversations that are happening on the other side of the wall, I could go on and on. However, I want to focus on one particular feature specifically. They have a magical detection mode that can be used to detect residue of spells and potions. So not only are they extremely useful to detect if magic has been used in a certain place or object and what type of magic it was but you could also see if a person is under the effects of a potion or a spell." He finished proudly.

"Wait, are you telling me these glasses can tell me if someone is under the imperius curse!?" Harry asked incredulously.

"The imperious curse!?" The man barked a laugh. "Of course not, that's the thing about the imperious curse! It leaves no magical residue and it can't be detected. No, unfortunately, you can't see if someone is under the effects of the imperious curse with these glasses. However, they allow you to see if someone is under the effects of charms like the confundus, glamours, transfiguration, and many other spells. It also allows you to see if someone is under polyjuice potion or any other potion. You can also use it to scan your food and drinks to see if they are potioned or not. There are more features and there's a full list of what spells and potions it can detect and how, but you can read all about that, it's all in the instruction pamphlet inside."

"This is brilliant!" Harry exclaimed with a large smile. "How much are these… Mister...?"

"Oh, please. Call me Everard." The man waved him off though Harry could tell he was hiding something. "As for how much, they're seven hundred galleons." At that Harry's jaw dropped. "Not only are they extremely useful and something you'll only need to buy once. But these are also only the fifteenth pair in existence. To say they are extremely rare is a massive understatement."

"Right," Harry nodded to himself while feeling slightly lightheaded. "That makes sense."

"Say, Everard?" Flint said as he stared at the glasses. "You wouldn't happen to still have them in eye contact form like the ones you gave me when I started Hogwarts, would you?"

"Why yes I do," Everard grinned. "Would you prefer them to the glasses?"

"Yes, please Everard." Flint replied before Harry could even open his mouth.

"Alright. Just give me a moment. You can tell him about the necklace while I'm gone." He said before quickly leaving the room.

"Why do you want me to use eye contacts instead of glasses? I was fine with them."

"Harry, you're an identical copy to your brother and the two of you are identical copies to your father. If you keep looking like them then people will keep grouping you three together. If you really want to separate yourself from your family and make people respect you for who you are then you need to create your own path and image helps. Thankfully you already comb that mess of hair of yours and now with eye contact lenses, people will truly see how different you and the other Potters are. Now, all we need to do is change your style, but that can be done in the summer."

"That… that is actually a good explanation," Harry said, slightly surprised. "But won't people suspect that I have these new, cool eye contacts if I stop wearing glasses?"

"No, they'll think you just switched to any other normal version of eye contact lenses. Remember that very few people know that these glasses exist and they all know that only people of the four families that invested in them can get them. The last thing they will do is think you have them, it wasn't exactly easy to convince Everard of agreeing to this."

"How did you manage to do it, by the way?" Harry asked but Flint ignored him as he picked up the second case and opened it, revealing a silver necklace.

"This is a portkey. A very illegal and very powerful portkey. While the usual portkeys only work for one trip or one roundabout trip, this one is special. It's a completely reusable portkey that you can use all the times you want and it will still work. For them to work though, you actually have to be at the location and set the destination to be exactly where you are standing. You can of course play with the settings to change the destinations as many times as you please. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you." He grinned at him. "It has five different settings that you can activate with different keywords. So essentially, you'll have five reusable portkeys with you at any time with just that necklace."

"Alright," Harry said slowly. "And why are these better than just apparating? Wouldn't they be useless by the time I learn how to apparate?"

"Because these are not normal portkeys," Everard called out as he entered with another case which he switched up with the first one. "These portkeys are completely immune to any anti-portkey jinxes. Which makes them extremely useful in situations of danger!" The man smirked. "Don't worry, this is much more affordable than the glasses. A measly three hundred galleons."

 _Right,_ _ **measly**_ _, bloody hell this dude wants to bankrupt me!_ Harry mentally screamed but didn't let any of it show. "Naturally," He responded with a smile that didn't look completely forced. "So what's in the third case?"

"Ah, the ring. One of my most proud achievements and a recent one too. This is only the fourth in existence and Marcus right here has one of the other ones. Tell me, Mister Potter, what do you know about wands?"

"Well, wands work as a way to channel the magic of a witch or wizard so that they can perform magic in a more focused manner."

"True, but wands aren't the only tools that help a wizard channel their magic. Staffs are also commonly used, and there are even some cultures that still use wandless magic that requires decades of training, in fact, here in Britain there are only two people who managed to grasp wandless magic to some extent, and that's Dumbledore and _The Dark Lord_. My point with this is that wands aren't the only ways to channel magic. And so, I show you the ring. This was a pretty large challenge, it took many years to perfect, and I'll be completely honest and say I had to use some magic that would raise the Ministry's red flags. Nothing _truly_ dark, granted, but the ministry still wouldn't be happy with what I did. It's made with goblin-wrought silver and has a small piece of thestral heartstring inside, but to truly make it work with you I'll have to bind it to your magic. That way, the ring will work perfectly for you and only for you, to anyone else this is just a ring."

Everard opened the case and Harry looked at the ring. It was a silver ring decorated to look as if it were a snake that had emerald eyes.

"Now," Everard interrupted Harry before he could reach out for the ring. "This ring doesn't make you a master of wandless magic. Not even close. It can actually perform very few spells. The summoning and banishing charms, the levitation charms, motions charms. Any charms that are related to the movement of objects. But that's it, you can't perform any others. This can be a very powerful aid, but it's just that, an aid. And it should be left unsaid that if you're using your ring on the right hand then you can't use your left hand to use magic."

"Obviously," Harry drawled. "Is that how you closed everything with your hand?"

"Naturally," Everard almost scoffed at what he must have considered such a stupid question. "I have some notice-me-not charms in my ring and I know Flint does too, but that's optional. I would recommend you do. Another thing you should keep in mind is that learning spells with your ring will be different from learning them with your wand. While with wands you do wand movements and say incantations, it doesn't work that way with the ring. The ring is all about visualization, you need to see what you want to happen before you cast the spell and you have to have a pretty precise picture, otherwise it's not going to work. It's much harder to learn the spells on the ring but it may end up saving your life. With the ring you also don't use incantations, so don't even bother trying to practice with them."

"You should also not use your ring unless you're in a life or death situation." Flint continued smoothly. "Not only because we don't want to advertise that you have the ring to the teachers or other students, but because in a fight the element of surprise is everything."

"Precisely!" Everard agreed and Harry was about to ask the precise but the man beat him to it. "The ring is going to be five hundred galleons."

 _Great, fifteen hundred galleons gone in an hour_. Harry grumbled mentally but didn't stop himself from pulling the miniaturized bag nor did he stop Flint when he enlarged it and paid the man. After making sure the other five hundred galleons were there, Harry asked Flint to shrink the bag again.

"Excellent! Now we just need to bind the ring to your magic and that'll be all!" Everard said cheerfully.

"Wait, before that," Flint spoke up. "Is there any way for Harry to receive the tattoo? I know you're one of the few who can do them."

"Unfortunately, I can't. While you are a Flint and will have the power to authorize it in the future, I would need the authorization from the _current_ Head of House Flint."

"My uncle," Flint growled. "Alright, it was worth a shot."

Twenty minutes later, an exhausted but pleased Harry Potter walked out of the shop with his contacts, ring, and necklace all on his person. He looked at the glasses in his hand before he suddenly stopped right before they reached the elevator, much to Flint's confusion. Harry suddenly threw the glasses to the ground before stomping them with his foot and grinding it over them. After he was satisfied he continued walking to the elevator and didn't look back.

"A bit too dramatic for my taste," Flint's distorted voice said mirthfully as the elevator rose back to the White Wyvern.

Harry didn't respond, he just smiled to himself.

* * *

_**Malfoy Manor** _

_**9:25 p.m.** _

The day had gone exactly as Draco Malfoy had expected. The train ride was long and boring, but at least he managed to goad Potter and the Weasel one final time. His father's welcome was just as cold as he had known it would be and the absence of his mother wasn't really a surprise, he rarely saw his father and his mother together even though they lived under the same roof.

Dinner had been quiet, which was expected but as part of Draco couldn't help but miss the ambiance of the Great Hall. It seemed so warm and full of life while the dining room at Malfoy Manor was the complete opposite. It was cold, dead, a graveyard with a table would have more life than this. His father was seated on the complete other side of the table, leaving a good twenty to thirty feet of space between them.

It wasn't until they had both finished eating that his father finally spoke up.

"How was school, Draco?" His father asked formally.

"It was well, Father," Draco replied vaguely, knowing that this wasn't really what his father was interested in.

"How were your marks?"

"I'm in the top ten students in the year," Draco answered, managing not to roll his eyes.

"Good," He replied primly and there was a moment of silence before he spoke again. "And how was the other assignment I left you?"

"The one about Potter and his mudblood pet?" At his father's blank look he continued. "I did as you asked me, father, I remained neutral and watched them. As much as I hate to admit it, Potter's smart, and his filthy mudblood is just as smart, if not more than him. While Potter knows how to handle himself in the house and how to deal with any situation that he faces, the know-it-all mudblood is the best of the year. Not even Pansy could beat her."

"Tell me about these situations Potter's faced?"

"The idiot grew attached to his mudblood pretty quickly, almost desperately. He defended her and stood up against the whole House for her and the others didn't take it well. While many of the confrontations were just verbal there were a couple that turned more physical. In his first week at Slytherin, he managed to send Rosier to the infirmary and allied himself with Marcus Flint."

"He's no threat. The Flint's have lost all their money and influence."

"Maybe so, but Marcus has a lot going for him. He's prefect, quidditch captain, and he has many allies in the House and outside of it. While he may not be a threat now, I don't doubt that he will be in the future. And for now, he's enough to keep Potter and his mudblood safe. He proved himself capable of that on Halloween where Potter, Flint, Nott, and the mudblood took on three trolls and Mulciber, Rosier, Carrow, and Avery at the same time. After that, neither of the four have even looked at any of them."

"Interesting…" His father muttered to himself, barely loud enough for Draco to hear. "Tell me about Potter and the mudblood. What are they like?"

"Potter is smart, but he's also aggressive, he's sloppy, and he's depending too much on Flint. He's making too many waves but he doesn't seem ready for the consequences. However, he seems to handle himself well during stressful situations. He's too much of a Gryffindor but it's obvious there's a snake behind the lion." Draco sighed. "He's complicated, his future in the House will depend on the next few months."

"Indeed," His father agreed. "What about the boy's relationship with his brother? With his father?"

"Broken would be putting it nicely." Draco shrugged. "It's clear he hates them and the other Potter clearly hates him just as much. I haven't seen much of his father but by what I've seen, there's no love lost between them."

"And what of his mudblood? Could she be one of us or is she as filthy as the rest?"

"It's hard to tell. The girl barely reveals any emotion, she has one of the best masks in all the House. But I don't think it matters. The two of them seem to be a package deal. Nott has joined them recently, but it's clear the two of them are extremely close, and certainly closer than they are to Nott."

"So young Theo has gotten involved with them, you say? Maybe that will be the last straw before Thaddeus fully disowns him and after everything, I can't say I would blame him." Draco saw his father's mask break for a second and repress a shudder.

"What happened between them?" Draco said before he could stop himself. His father raised an eyebrow at him so Draco decided to continue. "I mean, I remember they were so close, and then suddenly… they weren't."

"It's none of your business, Draco." His father said coldly. "I don't want you looking into it or I will make you regret it." Draco gulped but nodded. "Now, going back to Potter and the mudblood…" He said to himself as he thought for a couple of moments. "The Potter boy is the heir-apparent to one of the most wealthy and influential families in the country and his willingness to ally himself with Flint shows that he doesn't have his father's prejudices. I want you to keep a close eye on him and I want you to start sending me monthly reports on whatever he's doing. I believe you are right, these next few months will decide whether Potter ends up surviving the ramifications of his actions during this term. Stay neutral with him and the mudblood and ignore Crabbe, Goyle, and Parkinson if you must. If Potter shows any signs of surviving the upcoming storm then allying yourself with him would be a smart move."

Lucius's face broke into a full grin.

"And if the Potter boy ends up being a worthy Slytherin and his relationship with his family is as bad as it seems, then we must make sure he knows who his _true_ friends are."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks, Proton6 and MasterChaos1 for alpha reading and ATP Synthase for beta reading!
> 
> This is the first part of the winter break, next chapter we'll get more Harry and Hermione (and Theo) and we'll finish off the winter holidays. I have already plotted out all of year one and unless chapters get divided because of length, there are only six chapters left.
> 
> I hope you liked this chapter! And yes, I know my characters talk like 500-year-olds, okay Val. I'm a shit writer


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